Dogs Have Owners, Cats Have Staff.

We have no children but we do indeed have babies and often treat them as if they actually were our children. They are the apple of our eyes… so cute, cuddly, loving, funny, irritating and frustrating.. but they are ours!

Bailey

This is Bailey. He was born on May 5, 2003 and came to live with us in July 2003. He is a Yorkshire Terrier and possibly a mix of some other unidentified breed. When we decided to get him we were under the impression he was going to be one of those tiny little brown/black yorkies. Instead, he’s grown into this gigantic grey/white yorkie-ish dog we loves so much!

He is a really sweet dog, there isn’t a harmful bone in his body. He loves to play and spends most of his day torturing our cats. In fact, we’re pretty sure he thinks he is a cat because she spends quite a bit of his time stretched out and sleeping on the windowsill.

We are yet to find any suitable toys for him. Unlike any other dogs either of us have had, Bailey likes to chew bits off any hard plastic toys we get him, and chew the stuffing out of any stuffed ones! So that kind of leaves us at a loss, and our house is like place where dog toys go to die. You can pretty much find a dog toy in any room that is waiting to be mended or thrown away.

He still has a lot of puppy in him so he can get pretty hyper. He runs like the wind when you take him outside and he will fetch all day if you let him. You can’t try to take the ball from him when he comes back though, or seem too interested in it, because then you will spend all day trying to catch him. If we pretend like we don’t care about the ball or want it, eventually he’ll stand there long enough and drop it. He does this in the house as well, if he knows you’re trying to catch him for something. His favorite game is “Make those fools chase me all over the house”. Around corners, over sofas, under the diningroom table, and anywhere else he can run before we catch him. It usually takes the two of us but I have to admit it’s kind of fun and most of the time we find it cute.

He’s also a very licky dog! Fingers, toes, elbow or any other body part, if it’s within his tongue’s reach you’re getting licked! He has a strange fascination with ears though, as you can see in the above picture. You can count on him climbing on you and orally attacking your ear at least once a day. We laugh and call him the “Ear Rapist” because he doesn’t take no for an answer and boy can he wiggle that little tongue in there! If you’re not careful when you’re cooing and baby talking at him up close, he’ll do the same to your mouth!

He’s not the most obedient dog in the world, which is more our fault than his. He knows how to sit and sit pretty and that’s about it. All the good commands like, stay, lay down, and other ones that actually come in handy are unknown to him. Not that we haven’t tried, mind you, just he doesn’t pay any attention to us when we do.

Bailey’s Photo Album

Pixel

Pixel is half Dachshund and half Chihuahua.  So a whole lot of attitude in a little package!   She came to live with us in June 2008 and has been a bundle of energy and a source of endless entertainment!

She is only 9 weeks old as I write this and has only been with us for a week so there isn’t a lot I can say about her yet that I haven’t already.

I am sure I will have plenty to add in the near future though, so stay tuned!

Pixels Photo Album

Spencer

Spencer is the house loudmouth. Yes.. believe it or not, even worse than me! I got him as a baby and from the first day he spent with me, he’s been a screamer! You can be sure if you go to the bathroom, go to bed and shut the door, or go outside the house.. you will hear Spencer howl!

When I first left Cape Breton to move to PEI, I was in my first apartment living with an ex and his best friend. I really missed having a pet and recruited Chris (The best friend) to help me talk my ex (The jerk) to let me get a cat! The minute I got the word that Project-Cat was a go, I sped down to the pet store to get the “Red” cat I always wanted.

I should have guessed what I was in for really. I followed the lady in the pet store to the back where the cages of kittens were. After a quick glance I saw the tiniest little marmalade colored kitten clinging to the cage door meowing at the TOP of his LUNGS! Of course, baby meows are so much sweeter than big fat cat meows.. but anyway, he came home with me. Night after night .. MEOWWWWWWWWW, MEOWWWWWWWWWWW, MEEEOOOOOWWW!! He was so obnoxious and SO playful! What a handful this little fella was! He just really loved to hear himself speak.. and he hated being apart from any of us.

So now here we are almost 8 years later and he STILL does it! I’m sure the neighbours think we’re crazy .. we must yell “Spencer SHUT UP!!” at least 40 times a day..

I can still hear Chris opening his bedroom door and yelling “SHUT UP CAT!!” and then slamming it again. I’m sure he regretted teaming up with me against Jerk-ex to get the cat in the first place. haha

Ok so he’s a bigmouth, but he’s by far the most affectionate cat you’ll ever see. He loves to crawl up on you and rub his face against yours. If he had his way he’d sleep on you 24/7… You can pick him up and drop him anywhere and he’ll just plop down and stay that way. He’s like a really whiney human trapped in a fat cat’s body.

Salem and Spencer’s Photo Album

Frick! and Radar

This is Frick! The first turtle we got after the loss of the Bunkers. He is a Yellow Belly Slider turtle and came to be with us in August of 2006 as a hatchling.

He was incredibly shy when he first came to live with us, ducking away and hiding at any sight of us. After a few weeks he has started to get a little more at ease and even swims excitedly at the glass when he sees us approaching. In true slider style, eager for any food we are willing to give him!

Curious how Frick! got his name? Read this blog entry welcoming Frick! to the family and explaining how he got his name!

Radar came along a week after Frick!, although they did come from the same place. We got him to keep Frick! company after seeing him alone in that great big tank. Radar is a Cumberland Slider and was also a hatchling when we got him, although slightly smaller than Frick!.

He is very timid with us, but can be quite a bully with Frick!. After a few weeks he still swims away and hides when we come around the aquarium. He is settling in a little slower than his roomie.

Want to read how Radar got his name? Read this blog entry and find out!

Frick and Radar live together in this 360 liter corner aquarium (with above tank basking area).

Frick! and Radar’s Photo Album

Harley

Harley is an African Pygmy Hedgehog (Algerian Chocolate in color) and was born on June 11, 2006. He came to live with us on September 8, 2006 after a long search for a breeder which resulted in us driving to Germany to get him.

He’s an interesting little guy. Quite timid if I come around his cage, and he loves to puff out his quills to try to prevent me from picking him up. Once I get him though he’s quite cuddly and loves to nose around and see what is going on.

He sleeps all day and comes out at about 8pm to have a snack and run a marathon in his wheel. Which he poos and pees in while he runs, making for interesting clean up every day and regular baths to clean his little feet. He doesn’t like that much but he enjoys the warm cuddle time in the towel afterwards.

Harley’s cage is currently being redone, I will post photos when we have the new one completed.

Harley’s Photo Album

Molly

Molly is a female dumbo eared rat and was approximately 6 weeks old when we got her. We decided to get a pair of rats and have one each, Molly is mine. I’ve been told that she is a hooded fawn by color and pattern.

She’s very quiet, when I take her out of her cage she likes to cuddle up and go to sleep, but getting her out can sometimes be a task as she’s very timid also. She’ll hide and get away from me if she can but I’m hoping she gets over this as she gets older and more used to me.

She’s adorable and I love her.

Molly currently lives in this Brio Mini cage that she once shared with her sister Cleo.

Molly & Cleo’s Photo Album

Stelo

Stelo is an Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys Picta Picta) that came to live with us together with Cupid, a Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys Picta Belli) in February 2007. They were a Valentine’s day gift from Xander but sadly Cupid failed to thrive and died a week after we got him home. Stelo is still going strong though and is so darn cute!

Unlike our sliders (Frick! and Radar) he shows no signs of being afraid or shy with us. If we come around he tries to come closer to investigate, if we pick him up he prefers to try to reach around to take a nip at us than to duck inside his shell. He’s a cheeky little bugger but we love that about him!

Stelo was named by the girl who sold him to us. When I asked her what I should call him, she suggested Stelo… the name of their pet store!

Stelo lives alone (and he likes it that way!) in this Juwel Rio 180 liter tank (with above tank basking area).

Stelo’s (and Cupid’s) Photo Album

Sherman

Sherman is our only non-aquatic turtle, or tortoise rather. He is a Hermann’s Tortoise (Testudo Hermanni Hermanni) and was named Sherman by Xander, like ‘Sherman the Tank’. He’s a funny little animal who loves to eat and has a strange habit of climbing up on top of the cave in his terrarium to pee. He has a beautiful shell and such a cute and friendly personality. We love him to bits!

Sherman lives alone in this terrarium.

Sherman’s Photo Album

Sydney and Chip

Sydney (named after the area I came from in Canada) came to live with us in July 2007.   She is a Three Striped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon Baurii) and is the most cheeky of all my turtles.   You aren’t picking this one up without her at least attempting to bite you!

She is cute though really!

She is mostly a bottom dwelling turtle so she doesn’t require such a large tank as some of the others.

Sydney’s Photo Album

Chip came to us in August 2007 and currently lives together in my ‘baby tank’ with Sydney.

He is a Loggerhead Musk Turtle (Sternotherus minor) and like Sydney he thrives best in shallow water.

He is very spastic when in the water, swimming around like a little nut, but the minute you come around the tank he takes off and hides.

I think this is pretty normal for his species though, as with many of the bottom dwellers.

Chip’s Photo Album

Sydney and Chip currently live together in this 60 liter ‘baby tank’.  When they are each a bit older they will get their own separate tanks.

Always Remembered

This section is for all the pets that have come and gone in our lives either due to needing to rehome them or through death.   Regardless of how long or how short their stay was with us, they will always be in our hearts.

Salem

Salem has been with me since about 1996 (I think). I’m not sure of his exact birth date but I remember the day I got him like it was yesterday. Our other cat, Spencer, was a total loudmouth. He would walk around all the time meowing and howling some tale of woe or another. At first I thought it had something to do with hormones since he was still a young cat and hadn’t been fixed yet. After the operation he was just as bad, so I thought perhaps it was lonliness!

I thought about it for a while and finally gave in and went to the local petstore. I wanted one of those really fluffy multi-colored cats.. I knew exactly what I wanted! When I arrived at the shop there was a cage full of kittens.. I saw the one, he was so beautiful!! Black/brown/beige and so fluffy.. but this other cat kept getting in my way! Crawling on the cage desperately trying to get my attention. This black longhaired cat with absolutely massive paws! Something about that black cat got to me, and I took him home with me that day.

Once I got him home and had a better look at him I realized he had an extra toe on every paw! Omg.. A mutant!

I loved him anyway of course.. this made him unique!

Salem is one of those cats who plays by his own rules. When he wants to cuddle, he cuddles.. if you want to cuddle, too damn bad! He is not a screamer like our other cat but he has his own ways of getting attention. Such as scratching at any door you go behind and close on him. One thing he is famous for around the house is sneaking into the bedroom at night. The minute he knows we are about to go to bed he’ll sneak into the bedroom and hide underneath. Even though he knows he gets lured out from under the bed and locked out of the bedroom each night, it never stops him from trying. One thing I can safely say about Salem is that he’s persistant!

He purrs very very loudly, and he drools. He’s a total disgusto! He’ll creep up on you really slow, rub his head against you and proceed to drool a river onto you. Lovely, huh?

Salem went to a new home in May 2008, after a very painful decision to re-home both of our cats.  While Spencer did not get along with his new owners and was returned to us, they fell very much in love with Salem and have given him a wonderful new home.

Cleo

Cleo is also a female dumbo eared rat and is approximately the same age as Molly. We bought them together and they are the best of friends. I’ve been told she is either Russian Blue or American Blue in color as she is a beautiful greyish blue color, and she has a white stripe down her belly.

Cleo is quite the opposite of Molly, she doesn’t bolt when we go near her in the cage and she’s much more curious. She’s also very loud, constantly chattering inside her cage and making her presence known. She is also a lot more difficult to manage when she is out of her cage as she rarely will stay still and will crawl all over you trying to escape. At least for me anyway, she seems to be more well behaved for my husband, which is fine since she is mostly his responsibility as far as attention goes.

I think she just hates me handling her, although she seems to love me feeding her. The little brat!

Sadly, after 1.5 years with us, Cleo became ill.  The vet suspected that she had Cancer and after a number of failed treatments it was decided that there was nothing more that could be done for her.  She was put to sleep in June 2008.

Cupid

Cupid was given to me as a Valentine’s gift from my husband in February 2007.   He was a Western Painted Turtle and was very young.

Sadly, he failed to thrive and died a few days after we took him home.   Unfortunately this is always a risk when taking home turtle hatchlings as they can be very fragile.

I was very sad to lose him all the same.

Phoenix

Phoenix was another Western Painted Turtle hatchling we took home in December 2007.   Like Cupid he was also quite small but he seemed strong and I had high hopes for him.

After almost 6 months with us he became ill and while we tried everything we could, he passed away a short while later.

I will never get another WPT again.

Popularity: 3% [?]