Animals, Animals Everywhere

In order for my stories to make complete sense, you have to have some understanding of all the Stone family animals. Without going completely overboard in describing all the characters I will give a little blurb on everyone so you are up to date when I post my stories.

Our enteurage of pets adds so much to our lives, both good and bad - and we wouldn't have it any other way. In fact if I had the time or money I would have many, many more. Including goats . . don't you worry I will have some down the road for sure.

First we will start with Jazz. Jazz, Jazz Cat, Jazzy, Jazzters, Mrow Mrows (you will note this ongoing trend of all our animals having more than just their given name). We think Jazz is about 16 yrs old. He is a big black and white boy and was named Jasmine until we noticed many months later he had a penis. He came to live with us on Southport Island the year we got married (1998). An abandoned stray lured by salmon, his scrappy attitude has been calmed and his senior citizen presence melts our hearts. But beware - he will let you know if he doesn't like something and does not put up with bullshit of any kind. He can smell a hotdog cooking a mile away and will sit by the main water bowl for hours, even if it is full, 'cause he only likes fresh water . . . and he will stare at you until you do it. The minute you get up from the kitchen table he will steal your chair, over and over again.

Next in line for kitties is Marley. Marley, Marman, Mar, Marley Mrows was born to an outdoor mama cat at a farm up north (step-mother-in-law's family farm) He came to us as a little black fluffball that spent his first winter indoors climbing wall hangings and scratching our living room chair. Marman thinks he is one of our dogs. He lies with them, goes in & out with them and will even eat their food. He sleeps on the roof of the house, hunts daily - even carrying the rodent onto the roof to greet me in the upstairs bathroom window - and always comes when called in hopes of loving or food. Marley is named after Bob Marley - you pick either the comedian or the singer 'cause we love them both. I have to make sure he is inside when I take the dogs for a walk as he will follow us and meow loudly the entire time.

Last of the kitties is Haley. Haley is an odd bird and come to think of it she doesn't really have any nicknames, just Haley. Haley is the result of me not being able to say no. On our way into the vet a woman thrust a carrier at me and said "do you want a cat, my daughter is allergic - she's fixed, up to date on shots and is from the shelter" uh . . .uh . . . uh, well my girlfriend is looking for a kitten (omg my husband is going to kill me). Upon arriving home a phone call to said girlfriend let me know she already found a kitten that day . . . shit. "Can we keep her?" I was asked over and over again. So we did, much to hubby's dismay. She hates him and he hates her - they stay out of each others way and it's all good, lol. She is definitely my cat - she is skittish with everyone but me, will only come when I call her. She sleeps on the bed right near me and absolutely LOVES to have her belly rubbed all the time.

Now for the dogs. While I am an animal lover of every kind . . . dogs are my absolute favorite and I would love to have a shelter or kennel or something - except for I will never, ever, ever own my own business again . . . SO . . . Those of you that have known us for awhile know we have had many dogs during our marriage, long before we had kids our dogs were our kids. Unfortunately we have experienced some tragic losses with our former babies - prostate cancer, kidney disease and an entangled tumor in the nerve system, as well as one little biter that didn't work with the kids we had to find a home for (btw he is doing just fine as an only dog w/an older couple not too far down the road from us).

Riley is the alpha dog of our current clan. Riley, Riley Boo, Riley Boo Bear, Boo, Boo Bear, Ry, Ry Guy, Baby Boy, Riley Boy is the most amazing dog I have ever had. He is a mastiff, rottie, lab mix that we got at the Alna Store. (Nothing like going in for milk and reserving a puppy - and THIS time it was hubby). Boo Bear is 150lbs - he is HUGE and nothing but pure lovebug. He is 8 yrs old. He loves to snuggle and lets the kids lie all over him. He nuzzles the cats, steals the hen's eggs and would rather be outside than in. He is the only dog that sleeps upstairs - even figuring out how to open the gate at the bottom of the stairs to climb to his comfy bed in our room at night. (The other dogs have never asked to sleep upstairs - we don't give preferential treatment on purpose). Swimming is his favorite but he refuses to take a bath (have you ever tried getting a 150lb dog into a tub that doesn't want to go?), his head hits the roof of the car, he can open the screen door to let himself out, he can sit pretty for a treat and I love being greeted by him galloping down the driveway slightly sideways when I come home.

Ramsey, Ramsey Girl, Ramsters, Rams, Baby Girl came to live with us 3 yrs ago. We adopted her from the animal shelter when our last buddy, Cooper passed away leaving Riley as our only dog. We checked out the dogs, narrowed it down, brought Riley with us to meet them - he and Ramsey hit it off and we took her home. Ramsey was born at the shelter (they say she is a Great Dane/Shepherd Mix but not so sure about that), adopted out for a year and then returned by the woman whose new boyfriend didn't like her. If I had to guess I would say there was some abuse that happened. She then spent the next 8 months living at the shelter until we came along. She definitely has her issues, which over the years we have worked on - the only one we haven't been able to change is her food issues; she eats like a starving pig and will steal food if at all possible (from shelves, table, other animals, the kids, etc.). I thought for sure Ramsters had to have Ridgeback in her 'cause of how her hair stands up on her back a bit, her coloring and 'cause she has SO MUCH ENERGY she could run forever. Five mile rollerblading stints are her favorite. She used to roam and disappeared on us one night, injurying herself, leading to ACL surgery, complications and ultimately 6 months laid up in the house going stir crazy. She since has become a bit overweight but no longer roams and thanks to our new puppy is getting her energy out by playing all the time. As crazy as she has been, I love her to pieces and she is so gentle with our kids and other animals.

Boston is our newest member of the family. We've had him 1 1/2 months and so far he is known as Boston, Boston Boy, Bud, Buddy Boy and Cutie Pie. We took him in from a loving family that couldn't keep him anymore after adopting him from an animal shelter. He is an American Pit Bull Terrier mix, looks like he is wearing a tuxedo and is a total piss and vinegar sweetheart. He is the best thing we could have done for our other two dogs. He and Ramsey have become wrestling/chase buddies (letting the old guy off the hook when he doesn't want to play). He snuggles, snorts like a pig, doesn't understand that Marley doesn't like to wrestle (all the cats are used to him now - thank goodness!) gets into all kinds of puppy mischief (including stealing the hermit crabs to play with and chewing my bras in half) and is keeping us on our toes. He doesn't like water, but loves to play fetch which is awesome as the other two could care less about it. He is super friendly and at 45lbs is a great size for the kids. AND he has broken hubby's "no dogs on the couch" rule with a little help from his Mama.

Hamilton and Sidestep are our hermit crabs. They don't require a lot which is nice but they are amusing. They change their shells, climb and bathe in their pool. Hamilton is the big guy and very outgoing. Sidestep is very shy and passive. At nighttime I let them out to "romp" in a large plastic tote to get their exercise. The dogs are very intrigued and I've learned my lesson the hard way to keep a better eye on them.

Lastly we have our guinea hens. Currently we have 16. Two years ago we started out with 16 and the numbers have gone up and down so many times between being eaten (by coyotes and other wildlife, not us) and hatching babies. We have them for natural tick control - and I do belive they work. They roam free around our property eating bugs, returning to their building at the end of the day. They are fun to watch, very strange looking birds. Some people hate their loud screeching, I will admit sometimes it does get annoying but they are better watch-dogs than the dogs, announcing arrivals and passer-bys at the top of their lungs. And yes they do shit around the yard which is kinda gross but even grosser and helpful is the dogs eat the hen shit so we have an automatic clean-up system. Just don't let the dogs kiss you if you come over ;)

The funny thing about having all these animals is the reaction from my parents. Now mind you, I grew up on a farm. Horses, goats, bunnies, barn cats and a dog plus many, many hamsters, gerbils, chameleons and a guinea pig. My first animal of my very own after leaving my parents was my white German Shepherd mix from Jason for my 23rd birthday. We already had a dog, Ziggy that was Jason's. My parents reaction "great, just what you need" And for the 14 years we have been together the reactions for every animal have been similar "oh, another one?" "Tell me it's not yours" "Why?" This last time I looked at them and said "You raised me with animals, you have been witnessing this love for how many years and your still surprised?" I can't wait to see their reaction when I get my goats.