As promised, here are my loveable 4-legged sweeties. This is Bob. My daughter named him Bob, not sure why but it's kind of stuck now. He wandered up to our door a couple of years ago as a little lost kitten. He wouldn't go away but I was adament about not keeping him (despite my daughter's pleas). I had my son take him 'away' to a nearby neighborhood. Well the next day, he was back and I was overruled by fate. What a joy he has been! Somehow he knew he belonged with us. We believe that Bob is 'special' meaning that somewhere down the line there was some inbreeding or even cross-breeding of some kind. We're not sure because we know nothing of where he came from but he definitely exhibits some 'special' characteristics: he doesn't come running when you call 'kitty, kitty, kitty', he rarely purrs or meows and lacks the acute visual acuity that most cats possess. He has a very characteristic 'blank stare' LOL! He's special alright and we love our Bob!
This is Heidi our miniature daschund. She is a hoot with serious issues. Someone in my ex's family adopted her from an animal rescue group who gave her to my ex's Mother who had a stroke and long story short, to keep her from going back into a shelter or worse, I took her. That was over 3 years ago and, to say the least, like Wilbur the pig, Heidi is safe and officially a member of our family. She has a lot of issues, doesn't like a lot of people, doesn't do well with small children or other dogs and is very dependent upon me. She is so fearful of my son because of his size and menacing presence he can merely look at her and she begins to whimper. She loves me unconditionally and no matter how bad my day, I know when I come in the door I will hear her 'tippity-tappity' nails coming down the stairs to greet me. She does her little 'snoopy dance' while I get ready to take her outside. She sleeps with me every night and I'm glad that I make her feel safe. Sometimes she's annoying because she follows me everywhere, but I love my Heidi, she's a real gem!
This is Fatso! He's the Granddaddy of them all! Fatso is actually the grandchild of a cat that we had many years ago. Liza begot Baby and Baby begot Fatso! Liza died, we got rid of all of the other children but kept Fatso and got him fixed. He is about 7 years old. This picture was taken shortly after his recovery from a near-fatal case of flea-anemia so he is a little 'skinny'. This cat has moved around more than a gypsy on a budget! He was living with some friends of my son and due to whatever he became infested with fleas. Apparently he is not allergic so he did not scratch or try to defend himself from them at all. When he was discovered cowering in a closet and rushed to the emergency room the vet said his blood capacity was at a level that was 'not indicative of life'. He received a blood-transfusion and was touch and go for several days. He has regained all of his loveable fatness now and is healthy and happy. He is the most loving cat I have ever had. He will lick and kiss you just like a dog does when he is in the mood, but if he is not in the mood to be bothered BEWARE he will smack you in a heartbeat. He has very expressive 'cat eyes' and carries himself with all the pride of a lion. We love our Fatso so very much!
