Dancing Merengue Dog.flv

I couldn't stop smiling while watching this!  Even the dog seems to be smiling and wagging its tail the entire time!  So cute!  Wish my dog could do this...:)

New foster litter is finally here!

After getting back into our groove after vacation we got the call about fostering a new litter.  I was sad to hear that the first animals that are euthanized are black ones.  This is a problem for cats as well as dogs.  I don't get it!?!  We adopted our black kitty last year and he is absolutely wonderful!  I can't imagine our lives without him!  I heard a volunteer at the shelter say "what they lack in markings they make up for in personality".  So true, I am finding.  Well, here we are, our new little family that was ready to be euthanized and discarded like garbage.  They are older and bigger than we normally get but they need LOTS of socialization and TLC.  Not only are they on antibiotics daily, the two sisters are very skittish and scared.  My girls are learning how to rehab them even through the hissing and cowering.  The male kitten was all alone and is quite the charmer (like our own Timone) so he was put with the sisters to help them come around.  It's amazing how even when thrown together, they become a little family and love one another.

O"Malley was already named and is quite the charmer!  Look
at those ears!  I can't stop thinking of "O'Malley the alley cat" from
The Aristocats movie! :)

We decided to stay with the Irish theme, so this
is Kennedy.  So pretty, fluffy and coming around socially.

This is Kerrigan, which is Irish for black.
She will be the challenge.  She hisses because she is scared...
who knows how people treated her.
But we have high hopes for her!!

**Somehow my daughters have a much quicker success rate than I do at getting the scared ones to come around.   They are already telling me how the sisters are licking them and nuzzling up against them!! I am mostly the caretaker: give medicine, clean up the accidents, clip nails, etc.  Maybe they sense that and feel more at ease with calm, loving children who are smaller in size.  That's OK, though, I am proud no matter what!!

Reason #18: Animals know what they want and just go for it!

No hemming and hawing.  No asking others for their opinions on a matter.  No chickening out.  I love that animals have immediate insticts.  They just go for what they want and don't hesitate one bit.  I wish I could be more like that.  I spend way too much time reseaching a product I want to buy, scrutinizing a thought or idea that I already know the answer to, and asking too many people for their advice on which I have already made my mind up about.  Why?  Not sure.  But one thing I know now is that by watching my cat the other day and seeing his natural animal insticts kick in made me want to "just go for it".

We are pet sitting our neighbors two gerbils.  I wondered what
Timone would do if he saw them.  He was immediately on the prowl!



Timone knocked over my books that I used as weights.  I did
not want those gerbils to escape!!  Timone had other ideas....

Second set of books taken care of!  He is determined!!


**I am happy to report that the gerbils are safe and locked away in a spare room. 
Timone is now peeking at them under the door!

Reason #17: No matter what you are doing, the spontaneous spotting of an animal brings happiness.

As you might know, I am not a huge fan of surprises.  I like to know what is going on.  Some call it controlling, but being sprung upon last minute doesn't work well for me.  I am a big fan of non-scheduled days where the kids and I can hang in our PJs all morning until we decide what to do.  But that gets all trumped when the doorbell rings and I am in my PJs, glasses on, hair askew and not ready for company!  Is it bad that this happened today at 12 noon?  We ate breakfast and lunch in our PJs!!  It's funny, though, that when we (my family) are surprised by animals venturing into our day, we get so excited.  We welcome the surprise, without question.  This happened on many occasions on our vacation and we all loved it!


Store owner's dog napping in the window.
The kids were so excited by this! 

They insisted they needed new shoes just to go in! :)

While at Epcot, we spotted a number of bunnies
randomly running through the park.  Again, the kids
squealed with delight.  I was like, "Um, we are at Disney World!!"



We met a little girl and her Mom at the airport
picking up their new mini dachshund puppy.
Soooo cute and entertained the girls for hours!

Lucy, the mini piebald dachshund

Running through the birds on the beach never got old!

Reason #16: People watching is just sometimes too painful.

People watching can be fun....if you are at a setting other than a theme/amusement park.  I just returned from an amazing vacation with my family.  We spent a few whirl wind days at Disney World followed by a week at Siesta Key for much needed rest, relaxation and beach bliss!  The Disney experience lived up to all of my expectations: magical, exciting, entertaining, crowded, and as my kids said, "so much fun".  We hit all four parks in three days and loved every minute except for some of the people watching.  It is a place, I found, that people's behavior can really surprise you.  With temperatures in the upper 90s and a heat index over 100 degrees, high humidity, minimal shade, tired toddlers, seniors in scooters, and long lines, well, let's just say, the animals at Animal Kingdom were better behaved.  We found Animal Kingdom to be awesome!!  Some call it a glorified zoo...this I can not understand.  If you are a big animal person, you will be in your glory.  I'll take the animal watching any day over some of the crazy people watching!

*to be respectful and avoid a lawsuit, I did not photograph faces, or photograph some of the less humorous images ie: foul language, meltdowns-by children and adults, physical abuse and inappropriate lack of clothing coverage)!! ;)


Majestic and mesmerizing! We were in total awe!

 

We were also in awe of the number of people

who wore jeans!  Did they not get the heat memo??



The Kilimanjaro Safari was a hit!





I have a new respect for Fruit Bats.
I could have watched them all day...so cool!



Not cool.



The Tree of Life.
Amazing carvings of different animals and bugs
as the trunk of the tree.

An example of how beautiful the carvings are!

Yeah, I don't know. It might be lightweight but
you still stick to it in 100 degree heat.

There are so many more beautiful images to share but will save them for another time! :)

People watching vs. animal watching?   I think the animals take this one!

Reason #15: The constant companionship...the quiet kind.

You know when you want company but don't want the constant chatter? Well animals fit the bill nicely. Gardening for me is one of those times.  I lucked out this afternoon when my kids and their friends (a party of 10) decided to relocate from my yard to a neighbors'.  My girl Wrigley stayed back and hung out with me and we had a great, peaceful time. :)

Reason #14: They don't give you a guilt trip (at least not in words)!!

We are gearing up for our summer family vacation and I have not had any anxiety about it until we were at PetSmart stocking up on pet supplies for the pet sitter.  I spent WAY too much time in there trying to talk myself down from over-buying "stuff" for my pets to fix the guilt I feel for leaving them! I know they will be in the best hands possible but when a pet becomes part of your family, not including them in something is tough for me.  I especially feel sad to leave the newest member of the family, our kitten, Timone.  We have not parted since we rescued him at under 1 pound and he slept on a hot water bottle.  However, my kids have absolutely NO trouble telling me how they NEED all this new stuff for vacation: new swimsuit, shoes, hair do-dads, sunglasses, and toys.  I even almost got persuaded to buy a Nintendo DS on sale for my youngest!  Huh?!?  And yet, all my furry children need are some food, water, potty locale, some attention and belly rubs.  And they don't do the "awww" when you don't buy them an Icee at Target!!! 
Man, I'm mean!  :)

I just went out to get the mail, kids!  Talk about guilt trip!
(Sorry the resolution is rough, it's through the window screen)