Our Furry Family

Minnee

She has such a sweet face that its hard to discipline her. Luckily, she doesn't need to much discipline. She has a very mild demeanor and watches over all the other animals like she is the Queen of the house.

As you can see, she has grown a LOT in the past 6 months.

On days that are especially cold, the doggies have fun playing with their Papa Tutu in the snow.

Even the neighbors dog, Harley comes down to join in the fun. They chase each other around all day, playing, exploring and wrestling. Sometimes they go on hikes with Dad, and while Harley and Minnee stray from the trail, Chase and Lando follow Dad's path because the snow is too high for them elsewhere.

Even though there is lots and lots of snow, Chase and Lando don't mind a bit. They are always ready to play fetch or to help Dad do work around the house--even if its cold outside. Their new favorite activity is to follow Dad as he skates on his handmade ice skating pond!

The doggies also like to do sledding on the hill in front of our house. Dad sleds down the hill pretty fast, with the dogs racing behind him. When they get to the bottom, everybody wrestles like this...

Dad sure loves having all the doggies to keep him company up on the hill. They love having so much room to run and play.

This is how one dresses appropriately to go outside in negative temperatures.

Lando going off the beaten path. He seems happy to wiggle his way through lots of snow.

The doggies love to have their pictures taken.

Lando--loves to play and is always "underfoot". He is very obedient and has been trained well by Roo and Annie. He doesn't care too much what the other puppies are up to, especially if there's a human outside. He loves to get petted, and he patiently waits his turn. His favorite thing to do is to play fetch. He takes good care of his little brother Chase, doesn't put up with any of Harley's antics, and he deals well with Minnee and her excitement. He is like the Yoda of our little wild animal kingdom--very wise, experienced and patient.

Leia...

Leia is very vocal. She is not intimidated by the dogs, and when she feels like it she will come out and try to eat their food. Sometimes she'll find a good location up high and try to swat at her brothers Chase and Lando. We have seen her outside occasionally just exploring and taking in the views. Most of the time, she can be found cuddled up inside one of Nat's boxes of fetch taking cat naps.

Silver Fox....

Silver Fox is a beautiful all-white kitty. He is very mild-mannered and will let almost anyone hold him and cuddle him--including Lincoln last summer. Lincoln was trying hard to be careful with the cat, but he wasn't really supporting Silver Fox's bottom. Usually cats hate feeling unsupported and I was worried Silver Fox might scratch Lincoln, but he didn't. He let himself be held by his upper arms only, essentially being swung around. He just chilled. It was sweet. He stays surprisingly clean for being an outside cat.

Cougar...

Cougar is our hunter. He was the most active as a baby, and although he is small, he is definitely still on the prowl. He has caught lots of mice around the property, which Mom and Nat are very grateful for. Although he is a little bit of a hunter, he's also very sweet and will let you pick him up and cuddle him if he's in the mood.

Baxter...

Freckles & Baxter at the apartment. Freckles lives with Nat in town now.

Baxter (or Baxtie-boo-boo) was Nat's special project. We found her roaming around the house while it was still under construction. She was nothing but skin and bones, and she had paint and glue in her black fur. Nat caught her and brought her home, cleaned her up and fed her a lot. Once we moved into the new house, Baxter decided she wanted to be an outside cat, so we didn't see much of her. Nat was worried we might never see her again. Then, as suddenly as she left our house, she re-appeared in January! She's been hanging out in the shop, and keeping to herself. We are just glad that she's healthy and inside where its warm.

Lucky...

Ashlee, Brayden and Sierra were visiting last May when they told us they had found a stray cat behind Big Lots in town. We couldn't believe we had yet another creature to add to our brood! Lucky was tiny when we got him. He had long tangled fur, and the other kitties weren't very nice to him. He was very skittish and would hide in any corner he could in the shop. Eventually, as we took all the other cats to get 'fixed', Lucky decided he didn't want to be fixed. Since then, he has grown...and grown...and grown! He is now the biggest cat in the shop--and he makes sure the other cats know that he's the boss. He still doesn't like to be held or cuddled, but he does like to observe everything from his post on the bookshelves in the shop. He is almost as big as Chase now!

We love our animals!

(Not pictured/discussed: Chase, Monique, Freckles)