Furry Family

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”  

-James Herriot

Our animals are a huge part of our family, whether they live inside or outside.  On this page you will get to meet the inside gang; the furry family members.  Each one is very special to us in their own unique way.

No worries.
The grey looks distinguished Hershey!

Hershey

Nickname:  Hersh, brown dog, old brown

Breed:  Chocolate Labrador Retriever

Age:  12

Likes:  treats, dog beds, back scratches

Dislikes:  moving too much, food that's not hers, not going bye-bye

Hersh in her younger years.

Hershey is a good old girl who's been with Mike ever since she was a puppy.  Once a great hunting dog, she prefers to spend her leisure time now a little less actively.  She has been a good companion to our other animals and has tolerated their youngster shenanigans through the years quite well.

Roo relaxes with a bit of poetry
and a good friends company.

Rooney

Nickname:  Roo, Rooney Doodle, Bubba
Breed:  Smooth Collie
Age:  7
Likes:  new friends, being a R.E.A.D. dog, being a nanny to other animals
Dislikes:  getting his feet wet,  not being allowed on the furniture/bed, animals who don't play nice

Roo loves going to school
and making new friends!

Roo is an amazing dog who is truly as close to perfect as I could ever ask for.  He is smart, kind, gentle and friendly.  Together, he and I are a dual registered therapy team and run a local sub group of Reading Education Assistance Dogs at our local elementary school that I call Read to Roo (www.readtoroo.com).  In his free time, Roo loves playing with his little sister Violet and going outside to visit the chickens.

Trouble?  Who, me?

Violet

Nickname:  Vi, Biddle, Biddle Butt
Breed:  Yorkie/Westie mix
Age:  1 1/2
Likes:  playing fetch, wild sprees, cuddling
Dislikes:  when humans wiggle their fingers menacingly at her, stuffed toys out of reach, the word "no"

Violet is one pooped puppy!

Violet is a terrier through and through.  Spunky, comical and adventurous, she has not only won over the hearts of everyone in this household from the moment she came in; she's taken alpha position!  She's the first one to greet Roo when he walks in from school, springing around him in excited circles, like she is anxious to hear how his day was.  When we have trouble rousing Hershey from sleep to get up and go outside, Vi assists us by running in and ambushing her.  That alarm clock feature that she came pre-installed with?  Yeah, it works on kids and husbands too.

This is as good a photo as you'll get of Mama.

Mama

Nickname:  Ma
Breed:  Domestic Shorthair
Age:  unknown
Likes:  sleeping, hiding, Mike
Dislikes:  loud noises, the stray life, Tina

Mama kitty showed up to my daughter's 4th birthday party cookout in July with a few little kittens in tow.  Those little devils were impossible to catch so we did the next best thing: put out food and water, provided them a warm place to sleep and repeatedly attempted to catch them.  The kittens ended up disappearing but Mama stuck around.  We eventually caught her that winter and took her in to be spayed, vaccinated and de-wormed.  It was so bitterly cold that we set up a crate in the house for a few days until she recovered from the surgery...but she never made it back outside.  We offered it to her but she turned tail away from the open door and never once has tried to go back out.  She is grateful in that indignant cat way, though she greatly prefers Mike to me, and makes no effort to hide it.

Mac loves many things.  Bacon included.
This suprises you, right?

Macaroni

Nickname:  Mac, Big Mac
Breed:  Domestic Shorthair
Age:  7
Likes:  all food, watching the live feed camera in the chicken coop, did I say food already?
Dislikes:  exercise, dogs getting treats and him nothing, those cocky birds outside the window strutting around like they can't hear him meowing at them

Mac is a 17 lb dog.  Yes, I know that he looks like a cat but really, his attitude is all dog.  You can thank Rooney for that, as he was the "mother figure" to this (little) tyke when he was just a few weeks old.  Mac comes when called just like a dog, begs for treats and goes on wild sprees (occasionally) just like a puppy.  By far, his favorite thing to do is lie on the end of my bed and watch the live camera feed on our TV from the chicken coop.  We refer to this as Mac watching his chick flicks.  So witty, I know.