Dogs, cats, birds and a tortoise.

Animals have been a part of my life since I was a little girl. We always had a dog growing up, I raised rabbits as my 4-H project and my sister and I had pet ducks. My Dad also had aviaries with quail, pheasants and chickens.

Fast forward to my adult life and the animals have just kept coming. Dave and I got our first dog, a yellow lab we named Steamer, as soon as we got our first house. Steamer was followed by his friend Bugly, perhaps the ugliest boxer you've ever met but he had a heart of gold. When Steamer died of old age we rescued a harlequin Great Dane named Sheba. She was already middle aged and had a comfortable last couple of years with us. By this time, Bugly also passed away. 

Our next dog was Jack. I found him at my barn as a stray. 

He was about 4 months old and was with us for about 10 years. When Jack was about 2 we went to the shelter and adopted Buddy. 

Buddy loved and bonded with Jack until Jack died and then he totally bonded with me. He's my right hand dog and loves to go everywhere with me. He's now 12, in pretty good health and living the life!

Most of the cats we've had have been rescued bottle fed babies. We're down to one old cat, Tiger. We've had her since she was orphaned when she and her siblings were hours old and now she's now 16 and going strong.

Our easiest pet is our tortoise. She's really only half a pet since she's in the garage hibernating almost half the year!

For my last birthday, I asked Dave for an outdoor aviary and I got one! My Dad, Mom and I built it in a week and it's been lots of fun finding the right mix of birds.

I also foster kittens for our local animal shelter, http://www.countypet.org. Most of them just need to either grow up a bit or get socialized so they make good pets. Who could pass these guys up???

I couldn't imagine not having all these animals in my life. So, horses, dogs, cats, birds and a tortoise, what else keeps me busy?