Ellie
When I lived by myself in Canada I got a dog from the SPCA, she looked like a black Benji dog! We used to go on long walks and she pretty much went everywhere I did. Here is a picture of her running in the snow, she loves to run!
When Arlan & I were going to get married I told him that Ellie & I were a package deal. When we went to SanDiego he even had to move so that we could be in an apartment that allows dogs! Well, it did not take long and Ellie decided that he was the best thing to come into her life. She quickly became his dog!!! Her life changed drastically going from being a "farm" dog to a city dog in SanDiego to a beach dog in Huntington Beach. Then we had kids, Ellie tolerates them and occasionally shows them some puppy love.
She does like a soft place to lay! If there is anything to lay on, such as clothes, blankets, or bodies then Ellie will be laying on it.
And she always patiently waits for her turn. I started calling them my furry vacuums because they clean up the floor under the table so nicely.
Ellie is getting pretty old, I have had her for almost 7 years and they guess that she was 3 or 4 when I got her. But she has been a great dog and I hope she has some good years left in her yet!
Matty
Then there is Matty! Poor Matty is not the smartest dog on the block! We inherited Matty from hubby's grandparents and brought him home a couple months before Sam was born. Matty is a miniature poodle and chiuaua mix and because of the poodle he needs frequent grooming. After about 5 weeks he is just a mess!
Matty loves to be near people, but especially Daddy, I guess he hasn't figured out that Daddy really doesn't like him all that much hahaha! Just kidding, he does like Matty, he will just never admit it!
At first Ellie wanted to have nothing to with him, but eventually they grew to be friends.
Matty ended up being quite an expensive little addition to our family. He has had both back legs operated on to correct problems with his knee joints. During the recovery of his surgeries that were about a year apart, he was not able to exercise much. And this was about the time that we started to feed table food to Sam, and not long after to Ben & Carlee. Poor Matty is now nicknamed Fatty Matty. The good news is that he has lost a bit of the weight since we moved here and he has room to run.
Boots the three legged cat!
Within the first few nights of being in our home we met Boots. He was a stray cat that introduced himself one evening when we sitting on the deck enjoying the quiet of the evening. Of course it was hubby (the old softie) who just had to feed him. I told him that if he feed him he would never go away. Well hubby hoped that he would catch mice and that it would be good to have a cat around the yard. So we started feeding him, and discovered that he didn't mind the dogs and really liked the kids. he has these cute white paws and so I immediately started to call him Boots.
A few weeks after Boots started hanging around I found him under our deck with a badly broken leg. I took him to a vet and decided that he was a nice enough cat that we would see if we could fix his leg. The vet's opinion was that cat's generally heal really well and he would probably only need a splint. So I brought him home with a splint and had to keep him indoors. A week later the vet checked his leg, but it had been too bad of a break and the leg was dying. It needed to be amputated. I had already put money into the "stupid cat" as I affectionately began to call him. What was a few hundred more! And so the stray cat became our three legged house cat.
He gets along just fine with just three legs. In fact I have seen him with a mouse and a bird! He is never too far away from the house, comes when I call him, and is quite often where ever the kids are. The best thing I love about him is that he always goes outside rather than using a litter box!!
Now here is the strange thing about our pets...Talk about coincidence!!!
I got Ellie from the SPCA on July 4, 2001
We brought Matty home from the Grandparents on July 4, 2005
I found Boots with a broken leg on July 4, 2008
And then there are the add-ons...There are a couple of dogs in our neighborhood that have figured out we are suckers for cute, friendly dogs. And especially when it is cold outside and we are suspicious of how they are treated at home and they are cute and they are good with the kids... I know I am trying to justify the fact that the other day we had as many critters in the house as people. But Trixie makes her way over here nearly every day, usually around the time I am feeding the other critters. She has good timing! She is a cute lovable little dog who loves the kids. Ellie and Matty tolerate her but her and Boots get along really well.
And the latest add-on...One day there was a big brown dog that showed up in our yard. If you know a lab, then you know that they are just the sweetest, most lovable dogs. And this dog was no exception. We think we know where he lives, but we don't know his name. I started to call him Bob the big brown dog. When he shows up he comes in the house for a snack and a snooze. He was sleeping on my feet while I typed part of this post! The kids love him and he loves, well everything! He even wags his tail while Ellie growls at him, while Matty barks frantically at him, and while Boots hisses and swipes at him. I think they are jealous hahaha.
The moral of the story is that we love our pets, and even our neighbors pets! I believe that having pets teaches our children gentleness, kindness and compassion. And I also believe that we will always have pets.
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