The Zoo

When I was a kid, moving around with my Air Force dad, we always had to get rid of any animal we happened to latch onto at that duty station. As a kid, I thought that sucked. We would get attached only to have them ripped away from us. The emotional toll!! Didn't matter that it was really mom and dad that had to take care of them, or the expense of the vet... let alone moving with them and finding a new rental that would take pets. All we knew was the anguish of saying goodbye.

JR and I have had our share of pets and we too had to give them away to homes that were more stable or not moving. That is until 1994 when an 18 month old pug wandered into our yard and our lives. Butch had escaped from a family where the twin 8 year olds were a little ornery. In 1999 we adopted another pug who was the runt of a litter, only survivor out of seven and not really expected to live. Thus came Sundance. (Can you tell JR's favorite movie?) Technically, Sundance is Ryan's dog. But only technically. Butch is on the left and is now 16!! and Sundance is still cute and almost 9.

We moved to Germany and paid for the dogs to go with us. I never thought I would pay to have dogs shipped. While in Germany, we acquired Romeo, a loving 6 month old stray cat which was Bethany's. Though he slept on MY pillow. After 5 years in Germany, we once again paid to have the dogs shipped home. And the cat was to be Bethany's carry on and they still charged us an arm and a leg to carry him aboard. (I am still trying to figure out what I paid for... he didn't eat anything or have his own seat)

Romeo and Sundance loved sharing that pillow. Romeo alas passed away last year. We think mole poison. Six months go by and when mice started showing up in the house, JR relented into letting us get another cat. Only because they serve a purpose, mind you. So then came MoJo. Another 6 month old rescued cat. But a good mouser!! I had new gifts!! And he can catch bats too.

So now we are in a house, that completely belongs to us. And we are thinking two dogs and a cat are good! Nope! Were we wrong. This last weekend saw an increase in our four legged family members. First, Alicia begged for an animal. Ryan and Bethany got an animal when they were 15 or 16. She is almost 18! So what does she get? TWO 9 week old kitties! Yes, we have lost our minds!!

So here is Milo and Otis. Litter mates with different personalities.

And to add to the fun of the Ewing household, we took in one of Alicia's friends, Brittany and her dog Boomer. Boomer is a coon/dachsund mix who is twice the size of Butch who thinks he is a lap dog and a bed dog.

And we babysit Bethany's new cat, Smoky, who is a 100 lb 8 year old cat. Oh and it gets better!! Bethany also decided to adopt a new 6 week old kitty, Harley, to keep Smoky company. But!! She is staying at her bosses house for a week taking care of his animals while on vacation so her two cats are now with us. We don't have a picture of Smoky, because he is the most anti social cat we have ever met!

I think I have lost my mind!!