All of our animals came to us, one by one, over the course of about four years and we never turned any animal away.  JJ is a tan Chihuahua, about 11 years old.  We inherited him from David's mom, after she died in July 2007.  

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Next came Smokey.  Smokey was discovered all alone in a storm pipe one Sunday morning in early November 2007 by David, while he was taking JJ for a walk.  Smokey was only about 2 months old when David found her and brought her home.  

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Sandy came to us next in August 2008.  We had stopped at our veterinarian's clinic to get some ear drops for Smokey and there was a poster of a dog that had been dropped-off and abandoned at the vet's and was in need of a home.  She was estimated to be between 5-6 months old and had received all of her immunizations from the vet.  We thought she would be a great playmate for Smokey, since Smokey had a lot of energy and JJ was too small and old to be playing with big, young dogs.  

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We thought that would do it for us, as far as taking-in animals was concerned, but  in March 2009, during a very harsh snowstorm, we took in Flash, the senior Beagle who no one took care of and who would always stand on the other side of our backyard fence, whenever we were in the yard playing with Smokey and Sandy, and he would howl, bark, and cry to be allowed in the yard to play, too.  Flash started have more and more "play dates" with us.  On that snowy night, David went out into the snowstorm with his bright flashlight to see if he could find Flash out there and he did.  He brought the shivering Beagle in and we dried him with towels and warmed him up.  He fit right in with all of us, humans and animals, as if he had always been a part of our little family.  

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On a November night in 2009, while Tara and I were getting our trash ready to take to the curb, we heard a very distinct and pretty loud meow coming from between our trash cans on the outside of our garage.  We looked down and saw the bright yellow-green eyes shining up at us from a small Black & White (mostly white) kitten.  She was shivering and looked thin.  We brought her into the house and showed her to David, who had always said that he never wanted any cats.  David said we could give her some food and water and she could stay, but the next day we would need to post "Found Kitten" signs around the neighborhood to see if anyone was missing her.  After a week of no one claiming her, David said we keep her and we named her Sasha.  The dogs all seems to take to her well.  They seemed to accept that fact that, since she was brought into the house and living there, now, she must be a part of the family.  Flash, especially, took a fondness to her and would follow her wherever she went.  

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Finally, in February 2012, as I was returning some rented movies to our local video rental store, a little Black & White (mostly black) kitten came out from behind the bushes growing along the front of the store and came right up to me, without any timidity, and then laid down on top of my shoes, as though she hadn't the strength to take one more step or even to stand up any longer.  I picked her up and she was purring.  I brought her home and showed her to David  and he said we could keep her.  We named her Bobbie and she is the youngest and newest member of our family.  All of the animals get along with each other very well, from the biggest dog to the smallest kitty.  We love them all and have felt very honored to have been entrusted with their care.  If we were no longer able to care for them because we no longer had a home to live in, it would truly break our hearts.  As it is, right now, we are preparing to say goodbye to our most senior animal, Flash, as he is nearing death and it's very sad.









​ **IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT FLASH:  Sadly, Flash left this world on April 19th.  Please, see the tribute page I have made for him.