Something lite and fun today...

Something fun and lite to share today. Approximately 11 weeks ago our neighbors dog had puppies. I may have posted about them previously, can't remember to be honest and I'm being lazy today and do not want to go back and search my posts. Regardless, the dog had 8 puppies 6 of which survived. Our kids have enjoyed watching them grow. Just as they have enjoyed watching the kittens living under the ramp my father made specially for me when I had major surgery on my right knee in Jan. (Thanks again Dad! Love you!)

This is Mister Mickey.

This is Kristofer with Socksie.

The kittens are now 8 weeks old. They are still nursing and we have been feeding the mom in hopes that she will start teaching the babies to eat food. We have told the kids that they may claim Mister Mickey as their own but he will have to live outside. We have another little boy who is going to take Socksie as soon as we know for sure the kittens are weaned.

The kittens are not like normal outside kittens. Usually when kittens are born outside and not around people they are wild and hard to catch. Our kids have been very good at letting them grow and be with their momma. In the last 6 weeks (for two of the early weeks we had no idea where Snowbell had hid them), the kids have played gently with them always putting them back under the ramp. They never took them from the momma when they were nursing. We are VERY proud of the kids!

Anyway, about the puppies. When they were about 4/5 weeks old the neighbor's 3 yr old got into some tar and poured it out. Well the puppies got into it. Do you know how hard it is to get tar out of puppy fur? I do! I spent many days helping our neighbor get the tar off the pups. Unfortunately our neighbor was not in a position to take care of the animals the way they needed to be taken care of such as food, baths, ect. One little female pup was the worse when it came to being covered in tar. She had a glop of tar above her eye that restricted her eye from closing, her paws were so covered it looked like she had black socks on and her back looked as if she had been painted on. She also was the runt of the pack. Small and so gentle. One afternoon the neighbor's kids brought all 6 pups over to the house when I was sitting outside watching the kids play. This one little tan and white pup (the runt) sat at my feet and kept looking up at me.

Now if anyone knows me you know I am a softy when it comes to animals. I love them, all of them even mice and rats. NO not the ones that are wild and like to get in my laundry room or even in my washing machine. But the tame ones you can own as pets. Of the rodents you can have as pets I love our ferrets! Ferrets are the best! Anyway, when I picked her up she instantly was up with her head on my shoulder. Her eyes and personality are just like our beloved Katie who we lost 2 years ago this coming Nov. I instantly fell in love with her. But it wasn't my decision! The kids asked Sean and after mulling it over in his head for about a week (actually for about 4 weeks the kids started asking as soon as they were born!) Sean surprised all of us and said yes.

You should have seen the excitement in the kids! So let me introduce you to the newest princess in our home, Jaron has named her Isabell but we call her Izzy. She is an amazingly sweet and obedient pup. She comes when called and follows the kids around. She has never ran away. We are working on potty training and she has a ways to go or should I say Jaron has a way to go. He has been so responsible with Izzy. Feeding her, taking her out we just have to remind him he must take her out at least once every hour or so. She spends most of her time out side with Judah. Other wise she is in the utility room.

We have an agreement with the landlord we are allowed to have pets but they may not be in the main part of the house, outside during the day when possible or in the utility room/garage. I know it doesn't sound pet friendly but it works for us. The pets are never without attention with 4 kids in the house. Plus I spend quite a bit of time with them as well. The dogs "love" being outside! We have a play house they use as shelter from the sun plus we have a few large trees that give quite a bit of shade.

Izzy has been such a blessing to our kids. They love and adore her. We are not sure what type of dog she is. The mom was a mix and from what we were told has a bit of border collie in her. It doesn't really matter to us. I love a variety of breeds of dogs but I have found that the dogs that are considered mutts or mixes are usually the most healthy. All the dogs we have owned have been mixes. Izzy had to be shaved to get all the tar off her coat and around her eye. She still has one paw that we are still cutting tar off. Eventually she will be tar free. The funny thing she looks like she has white chaps on just like my parents dog, Peggy. Peggy is a Schnauzer and is sliver and white, Peggy too has white chaps on her back hips and hind legs.

So I hope you have enjoyed this short on our new found friends. Our kids are animal lovers from bugs to birds to cats and dogs! We thank God daily for all the creatures He has created and allowed us to enjoy!