My Own Flock

All of these "visitors" to my home, how come I haven't said anything about the permanent residents? Who knows, we all take the ones we love the most for granted it seems sometimes. My permanent flock has grown by one just since yesterday. I made up my mind that one of my fosters is going to stay.

But let's put the spotlight on the best of the best. I started volunteering for PAWS after adopting my two boys, Abe and Ron. There could be no two cats more perfectly suited for someone like they are for me. After fifteen years of two cats that only tolerated each other, it is so awesome to have two that love each other. They are brothers. Also rescued by PAWS, apparently they were bottle-fed since they were about two days old. Aren't they awesome?!?

It is almost two years since they entered my life and have made it all the better. I picked them up from their foster home in the middle of a February blizzard.

About six months later (Memorial Day 2007), I made what was probably the biggest commitment of my life: I got a dog. Now, I don't have any kids and cats are independent so this was a big change in lifestyle, believe me! After I made up my mind that I was definitely ready for a dog, I contacted the PAWS dog coordinators. We discussed my lifestyle, my preferences, likes/dislikes, you get the idea. I was both surprised and disappointed when they told me they didn't think we had a dog that was right for me. I wanted to adopt from PAWS but I felt that their honesty and commitment to doing the best thing for the animals in our care was admirable.

Enter: Petfinder.com

So, I searched and searched. Breed, size, color wasn't all that important to me. I wanted the right girl. Save Ohio Strays, another great rescue that fosters pets in private homes, had my girl: Liddy. Her foster mom told me that she was rescued from the Medina County Dog Pound on what would have been her last day. I can't imagine anyone not scouring the earth trying to find her. There is no way she would run away (from me at least). My feeling is that she may have been somewhat mistreated. But she is definitely a sweetheart.

After a DNA test, I found out that she is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever/Beagle mix. How cool is it that? I had a bunch of people tell me they thought Liddy was a Hungarian Viszla...never heard of that before. I have a neighbor who knew she had some Beagle in her!

Liddy and I have gone to school. We enrolled in a couple different training classes with the hopes of her receiving her Canine Good Citizen certification...then on to certified Therapy Dog! She has a wonderful disposition and thought she would really thrive in that environment. Well, Liddy has some separation anxiety "issues," so I don't know if that will ever pan out. Who cares! All I know is that she's her mommy's girl! And that's just the way I like her.


Two cats and a dog: perfect! Enter four strays in my backyard this summer. I have lived in my house for about ten years. I have never seen a stray cat in my neighborhood so when all of a sudden this mother and her three kittens were there, I couldn't stand myself! They were borderline feral (unsocialized, unused to human contact). I went out and got a couple humane animal traps, received permission to bring them in the PAWS system and the rest is history. The three kittens have found homes and I decided yesterday that Sarah is home...in my home.


If you could see the change in her since August you wouldn't believe it is the same cat (not only is she chubby, but her manner is so much better). However, the thought of her having to readjust to a new home after knowing how stressed she was under varying circumstances is something that I'm not comfortable with at all. So, she is formally adopted!


Strangely enough, all of the cats love the dog...even the new girl! And to be perfectly honest, I couldn't have a better dog for all of this insanity than the girl pictured here. So this has been my little tribute to the furry ones that improve my life and brighten each and every day!