My youngest daughter, Ashlyn, found a litter of stray kittens in an alley back in May 2016 while at XH's parents' house. When we met to pick up the girls later that day, they brought the kitties and XH's mom gave us $20 for supplies if we'd take them home with us. One of the kitties was white with black stripes like a tiny little white tiger...and in a moment of weakness, I said yes. I thought we'd get them healthy and ready to find them some new homes...maybe keep one of them or something. They were just so cute though and each have their own little personalities and quirks...so it became impossible to just pick one or even two of them to keep. So...we kept all three! The girls and I each named one of the babies: Leo, Angel, and Milo. I almost always call them LeoBud, AngelFace (Johnny calls her SweetiePeetie), and MiloKitty. I'm not sure when it started, those names just sort of stuck.
Leo is a silver short-hair tabby with black spots and stripes. We always get compliments about how beautiful he is. He's the biggest kitty and it's all muscle...he's very heavy compared to the other two! He used to be pretty aloof...but he's become really lovey. He has even started climbing into my lap to hangout while I'm working on the computer. He still hates being picked up though. He's pretty vocal about anything he doesn't like or that he's had enough of. He doesn't mind being brushed or having his nails clipped...until he wants you to stop and then he'll start making whiny noises. He's the only one who puffs air out of his nose...almost like he's annoyed and saying "hmph" which is so funny. He's a sweet boy though. He loves laying on the perches of the cat trees and sucking and kneading on soft blankets.
Milo is a short-hair classic tabby with grey/brown circles and stripes on his black coat, a brown spotted belly, and a cute little white chin. He's only slightly shorter than Leo but quite a bit lighter. He's our little cat dog. He follows me around like a puppy and loves to roll over for belly rubs. He also loves to play fetch. He'll bring his little poof ball or stuffed mouse to you and just sit and flick his tail waiting for you to throw it for him...then he'll chase after it and bring it back for you to throw it again. We didn't even train him to do it...we just tossed the ball for him to catch and he brought back and dropped it on the floor in front of us. He's a super sweet baby who purrs really loud. Every single night he will jump up on our bed and go to the pillow behind mine--which we've covered with a soft blanket--and he'll knead the blanket for awhile before laying down and stretching his paw out on the pillow that I sleep on or right on my head.
Angel is the smallest kitty and also the only medium-hair cat. She's super soft with a fluffy tail and a tiny little face. She's pretty vocal and the only one who really makes a typical "meow" sound regularly. She will meow at a closed door if she knows someone is inside without her. For as tiny as she is, she can meow LOUD when she wants attention. She loves being petted and regardless of what you're doing, she'll crawl right into your lap demanding cuddles. She loves head scratches and if you stop, she'll nibble on your hand until you keep petting her. She loves to be brushed and if you're brushing anyone else, she'll sit in between and paw at you until you start brushing her instead. She also loves laying in the sun. And she especially loves her daddy. Johnny is still a dog person...but he likes being the cat daddy now, too. ;) Since getting Nova, she doesn't really come upstairs unless the dogs are outside or in the bedroom with Johnny. If she'd come up here more often around the dogs, they'd stop getting so excited and chase after her...just like they've calmed down with Milo and Leo being upstairs. But...until then she just meows at the gate at the top of the stairs until someone goes over and pets her. :P
We had to make the very difficult decision to put our Australian Shepherd, Bandit, to sleep two days before Christmas in 2019. Johnny got Bandit as a puppy in 2010. He was a big furry sweetheart and Johnny was very attached. Bandit had gotten sick in July and then got sick again in December...and he just couldn't shake it. He was having a lot of difficultly breathing and even after lots of meds and spending the night in the oxygen cage at the vet, he still wasn't getting better. The vet thinks it might have been cancer that either started or spread to his lungs. So we said goodbye and stayed with him until he no longer had to struggle to breathe anymore. :( It was definitely one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. He was such a good boy and we still miss him terribly.
Bandit aka Bubbies
January 27, 2010 to December 23, 2019
January 27, 2010 to December 23, 2019
We'd been discussing getting another dog for awhile. We went back and forth about what breed we would get. We knew we wanted a large dog with longer fur...but there are many we liked. We decided on a golden retriever and I joined a group on Facebook which often advertised golden retrievers in the Midwest. A week later and exactly 7 months after Bandit passed away, we decided on a puppy who was ready to come home that weekend. We drove about 5 hours to pick him up the weekend of 7/25/20. He was such a tiny little guy and he's stayed pretty tiny at only 65lbs full-grown. His name is Bozley Reddington Pride but shortened to Boz (his name is inspired by the show Blacklist) and I usually call him BozzyBear. We've become very attached to this sweet guy! He is so beautiful and super smart. By the first week of August he had already learned the commands sit, down, and shake...and he immediately caught on to potty training. He loves playing with stuffed toys, throwing things around, playing fetch, and absolutely loves going outside in the snow. We do call him pandemic dog...because despite taking him everywhere with me during the first year of his life--grocery store pick-ups, out to my mom's house, and even to my grandma's outdoor funeral with about 30 other people--he's very nervous about pretty much everything. He barks at every noise he hears and shakes like a leaf whenever we put his collar on and grab the leash to take him anywhere (not just to the vet...even just to go on a walk or visit family). He also has PTSD from when we replaced our roof. We were going to my mom's house but the roofers got their earlier than planned and when I went out with Boz so he could go to the bathroom before we left, he started shaking and then just sat on the porch steps and pooped right there. Now anytime he hears similar noises, he'll look up at the roof (or ceiling if he's in the house). He doesn't like when the neighbors have people walking on their roof, either. There are only two things he's not scared of...thunderstorms and fireworks, amazingly enough. When he was a year old, Johnny walked him to the corner and they sat and watched fireworks. And I think because he can see what the noise is coming from, it doesn't bother him. Bozzy is very much a mama's boy...whenever he's scared he rushes right to me. I'm also the one who feeds him...and he's SUCH a picky eater. We have to add water and microwave his kibble or he won't touch it at all. We've tried different foods, toppers, making his food...anything he likes it's only for a couple days and then he just pushes it around with his nose again. But overall, Bozley is such a good boy and a wonderful addition to our family. :)
With Bozley's anxiety...we started talking about getting a friend for him to have someone to play with. When he was about 6 months old, we started casually looking for another golden retriever puppy. We had found a breeder that we liked...but it's been awhile since she's had an available litter. Then around 8pm on July 14, I saw a FB post about a 7 month old golden female who has a chicken allergy (just like Bozley!) looking for a new home. And about an hour later...we were on our way to pick her up! It actually ended up that the woman who made the post was the wife of someone I went to school with. I feel like it was meant to be.
Miss Nova Lee Pride walked into our home like she'd been here all along. Her previous owner had already named her Nova Lee so we kept her name since she'd already gotten used to it. Her nickname is Nobeans. LOL. It started as Noby...but then turned into Nobeans when I was cleaning the snowbeans off her toebeans. ;) Nova and Boz are pretty much complete opposites...from the way they look to their attitudes. Bozley is more of a serious and anxious/easily-excitable fella and she's far more calm and a lot more goofy. She always seems to have this vibe that's like, "I don't know what we're doing but I'm doing it!" She is a smart girl...but she's also very stubborn and like a strong, independent woman...she does what she wants. ;) Nova is such a sweetheart, though. She loves to cuddle with us and/or Bozley. She sleeps in her bed every night and loves laying right up next to us. She also likes to sprawl out and get comfortable whether she's laying in between us in bed hanging out in the sun. And unlike picky Boz, mealtime is her favorite time! She is the one who tells me when it's time to eat...she just stands there and stares at me (although sometimes it's not actually time to eat yet...or again). ;) When we're carrying her bowl of food back into the living room, she turns in circles and gets so excited. Nova is definitely a daddy's girl. She loves to cuddle and get all the rubbins while he's watching tv. She's not scared of many things...but she hates loud thunderstorms and fireworks. And while Boz wants mama when he's scared...Nova wants her daddy to comfort her. Nova Lee is such a sweetheart and she blended into our family seamlessly.
Then Neko and Linken are the girls' puppies. The mother is a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix and the father is a Chihuahua/Dachshund mix. The parents belonged to a friend of Johnny's and when they had puppies, Johnny brought two of them home despite my arguments against it. :P It just happened to be April 1, 2019...so happy April Fool's Day to me, I guess! :P They're cute and a lot of fun to watch, though. The puppies have definitely been a lesson in responsibility for the kids. They've been the ones to potty train them, bathe them, teach them commands, etc. And they're completely the girls' dogs...when they moved out, the pups went with them.
Neko is Ashlyn's puppy. His is NekoFluff because his fur is softer than his brother's. He's shorter and fatter than his brother. Neko is dark brown with tan markings on his feet, face, chin, and chest. He likes to dig in blankets to bury his bones (or he will find other places to hide them) and bends his head down to lean against you when he's tired...which is adorable.
Linken is Aubry's puppy. His nicknames are LinkenBark and Underbite. He is taller than Neko but more slender. He's tan with some white on his chest and paws. The older he has gotten, the more dark fur seems to show up on his back. Linken is a cuddle bug...and also has a bit of separation anxiety. But he does have a very cute personality and is a really smart boy. Aubry didn't really have any problems potty training him. He figured out really early on to bark at the door to go outside.
Even though I wasn't thrilled about getting the girls puppies...they are pretty cute. ;)
