The Pets

Our family is made up of six cats and a dog, each totally unique, with a different life story.

Hercules
Once a barn cat, Hercules has been in the family for about ten years. My brother, at the ripe old age of four, christened him as Hercules because of his favorite movie. “Herc” used to be an indoor/outdoor cat with us, until we moved around and he got frightened of each place. Now, he and Felix snooze on the library couch all day.

Felix
Nicknamed “Bubba”, Felix came to join our family about eight years ago. My teacher’s roommate could no longer keep him (the ‘new baby’ excuse), so we took him in. He is definitely the fattest cat we have ever owned. He is also the only declawed one… not by our doing, of course; so he is a completely indoor cat. Very rarely do you see him get up off the couch, unless food is being served.

Oz
Ozzy is the strangest cat you will ever meet. I can’t even explain it; it’s just like a screw is loose in his head. We adopted him from A Forever Home Rescue Foundation in Chantilly, VA in 2003, because my brother wanted a kitten. He was already appropriately named Oz! He is the only cat allowed outside, simply because we could NOT keep him in.

Dusty
The brat of the family. I was her foster mom in 2004, for Castle Cat Rescue of Annandale, VA. She was terribly sick as a kitten, running fever after fever. Jane, the owner of Castle Cats, basically saved her from death. I had a lot of fosters over the years, and she is the only one that I could not bear to give up. However, she torments the other cats… I guess because she’s the youngest and has the most energy!

Sophie and Trixie
These two are actually the youngest, born only around June of 2007. I found them in my ice rink’s parking lot, completely alone, malnourished, and TINY. The vet guestimates they were only five weeks old then. The two are separated from the other animals; my parents did not want any more cats, so they live with me in my area of the house. Sophie is the timider one of the two, very shy. Trixie is everything her sister isn’t- outgoing, loud meower, jumps all over you.

Jack
Jack David is known as the dog! We also adopted him from A Forever Home in 2003. He was born June 24, 2003 while in the care of the rescue. He is a labrador retriever/pit bull mix, and the most wonderful dog anyone could have. Jack eats my vegetables, guards our house, and keeps the cats in line.

Zoie
She doesn’t actually live with me. Zoie Zepplin was found on October 8, 2008, by my friend Jesse and I in the woods in his backyard. We eventually found her ‘owner’, who told us that he hardly ever fed ‘that litter of puppies’ and didn’t care what happened to them. So, as a result, Zoie now lives with Jesse. She was about ten to twelve weeks old when we found her, so she’s still a pup. As of the end of December, Jesse now also owns her brother, Sammy.

Other animals have come and go over the past many years, but these are the current ones in our family. =)