The Lake Tails of no more
Pet #1: Mesa Verde
Breed: Part Chow part coyote
Vitality: 2002-2019
Breed: Part Chow part coyote
Vitality: 2002-2019
Cause of death: Old Age
Details: While away on a mission trip in Mesa Arizona with my college Bible study, I was given a puppy from one of the tribe's elders. After being informed that giving it back would be seen as a dishonor, I was forced to smuggle the adorable pup into California illegally. Living with my Aunt, I was not allowed to keep the pet, Brandon was not allowed to keep her either. Therefore she was "given" to my parents to care for until the day came when Brandon and I could resume ownership. Long story short, that day never came, because my mom grew too attached to let her go. Mesa, to date, is the ONLY dog that my mom has EVER grown an attachment too. She lived a long and spoiled life with my parents.
Pet #2-3 Snipe and Westly
Breed: Tree Frogs
Vitality: 2002-2002 (approximately 4 months)
Cause of Death: Snipe disappeared only to be found Dehydrated in the Dryer with my Laundry. Westly disappeared never to be found again.
Details: While in College, I wanted to own a pet so Brandon and I bought some tree frogs to live in my room. After a while, they proved to be boring as they slept mostly during the day and were active (and annoying) while I tried to sleep at night. The other nuisance was the need to feed them live meals such as crickets and mealworms. One night after returning from classes I realized that the crickets had escaped the 10 gallon tank. Crickets were everywhere in my room! ON the walls, floorboards, in my bed. I shut the door and called my Boyfriend-Brandon, crying. HE came that night to rescue me form the pet infestation and collected EVERY SINGLE CRICKET. Upon returning them to the cage we noticed that the frogs must have chased their meals through the escape route. Our attempts to locate them were futile. I found snipe in the dryer vent of a load of laundry a week later. He must have been hiding in my dirty clothes pile. Whoops.
Pet #4: Wheezer
Breed: Ball Python
Vitality: 2003-2014
Cause of Death: Pneumonia
Details: Brandon loves snakes. Always has. When we were dating he would catch snakes in the wild all the time. Occasionally he brought them home as pets. I remember one time, I went to visit him and found a Gardner snake wound up on the door handle of his apartment, it had slithered out of its box. Another such event involved an afternoon when Brandon called me at home, excited about a ball python that he found slithering outside of his Nana's house. HE decided to keep it and wanted my retired frog tank to put it in. I climbed into the attic of the home I was living in, collected the tank, cleaned it out and just as I was about to drive it to him (an hour away) he called and said he decided not to keep the snake because it bit him. At that point I knew, that if I went through with our engagement and proceeded to marry this man, owning a snake was going to be inevitable. Having a fear of snakes, I decided that I would buy him a baby snake that I would handle at a young age so that it (and I) would grow accustomed to one another. I went to Petco that night, they had ONE Ball Python left, it was on sale from 79.99 to 29.99. I bought it without hesitation. I packed it into the newly cleansed tank with a reinforced lid and heat lamp and drove to Brandon with my surprise. We played with it all evening and realized that he made a funny wheezing noise when he breathed. I called the pet store and learned that Wheezer (not named after the band) had escaped and gone missing at the pet store. They found him in the fish tanks eating happily. His body temperature dropped and he probably had pneumonia. They sent us to a nearby Vet who injected the snake with several antibiotics and vaccines.
Wheezer recovered and lived with us for the first 3 years of our marriage. By year 3, he escaped his upgraded 50 gallon tank and disappeared for 3 months. Then, one afternoon while switching loads in the washing machine, I saw his half limp body sticking between the machine drum and side. I called Brandon thinking the animal was dead. But no...he lived through this! We deduced that he had been living in the walls of our East Stockton home eating mice, gotten thirsty and crawled into the Washing machine for a drink via the hose, when I turned the machine on his fattened body threw the drum off nearly breaking our washing machine.
IN 2007 Brandon and I gave Wheeze to a friend when we became foster parents. Wheeze made annual trips to my classroom for visitations and feedings in my science classrooms. IN 2014, our friend could no longer keep Wheezer as they were expecting their first child, and so Wheezer moved into my 6th grade classroom in a 100 gallon tank. He lived there for 6 months before I found him cold at the bottom one tragic morning. HE had started to breathe funny again, but I was not able to catch it in time, and therefore we think he died of the same illness that tried to take his life earlier.
Pet #5 Sneakers the Keekers.
Breed: Maincoon Mix
Vitality: 2004-2014
Cause of Death: Unknown-dissapearance. Suspected Catnapping
Details: After being married for a few short months, Brandon and I drove past a farm house with a sign that advertised: FREE KITTENS. Not being allowed to have kittens when I was growing up (dad had an allergy) I fell in love with the biggest bushiest one of them all. Brandon said no way, and I drove home that afternoon sad. The next day after work, I found the same cuddly cutie on our bed, Brandon brought him home to surprise me and it worked. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with him, laughing at how he stuck his whole head in Brandon's stinky workboots thus his name Sneakers. He was the craziest kitten I had ever met! He ran 100 miles per hour throughout the house, would jump up in mid air, do a back flip landing upside down on our curtains. We had a million holes in the hand me down curtains throughout our house. We bought him a tower to scratch at a garage sale for $20, which he slept on but preferred our donated loveseat as his scratching post. He proved useful in our first 700 sq foot country home catching, killing and eating everything that moved-mice, lady bugs and flies just to name a few. He played catch, and would use the litter box in the bathroom while I frequented the John early each morning as part of our routine. His favorite snacks were string cheese and salami, but he would happily sneak the meat out of anyone's sandwich. AS he aged he calmed down, and became a purring love on nights after work. He followed me throughout the house and left treats like headless birds, lizards and mice on our doorstep or pillow. He put up with no abuse and one day while Brandon was coming home from work to our house in East Stockton, our neighbor yelled at us: "GET YOUR DOG OFF MY DOG!" Brandon looked over and saw our cat attacking his pit bull! Keekee lost his front left fang in the pit's head that day, but he won the fight!
He moved with us to 4 different houses, but after living with us for 2 1/2 years in our current home he up and disappeared. I called him by name in my usually chant, but he never came home. It was the saddest day when I realized we lost him and it took me some time to recover from the unknown of his whereabouts. Over the years many commented on his huge size, loving nature and beautiful colors. WE interrupted a couple trying to take him off our front porch in our third home which leads me to think he was taken. He was too smart to get hit by a car. Brandon suspects that his heart murmur got the best of him and he curled up in a corner somewhere for his last catnap. We will never know the truth.
Pet #6: Calycat
Breed: Calico
Vitality: 2005-2005
Cause of Death: Eaten by Coyotes
Details: While living in the country house, I found a female cat abandonded by her owner wandering the dirt road that lead to our house. She was starving and friendly so I invited her into our home with the clicking of my tongue and she came in with my beckoning. She ate hungrily but Keekee wanted nothing to do with her and chased her out of the house. I let her live in our laundry room as she pleased for about a month but she loved to hunt outside at night. One night we heard coyotes outside our bedroom window-they were closer than they had ever come to the house and their incessant howls frightened me I made Brandon grab his shotgun so that he could chase them off as he tried to beckon Caly into the house for safety. She never came in. We never saw her again.
Pet #7 Horny Toad
Breed: Bullfrog
Vitality: 2005-2006
Cause of death: stabbed by a pencil
Details: Brandon and I caught a toad outside our country home and put him in a tank for my classroom of preschoolers. We named him after a line from our favorite movie at the time, Oh brother where art thou, "she loved him up and turned him into a horny toad!" My fours class loved him and would squeal when he peed on them each time they tried to pick him up! I continued his life in my classroom as I taught my first year in private school-7th/8th grade students, thinking his name seemed even more appropriate with all the hormones produced by preteens. He was a welcomed attribute until one day after returning from having a sub I found him speared through with a pencil. No students fessed up to witnessing the crime, therefore Horny's death remains a Cold case.
Pet #8: Jersey
Breed: German Shepherd
Vitality: 2005-2007
Cause of death: Broken Neck
After being married for 10 months I began to incur panic attacks from stress that, at the time, I was in deep denial of. I was hospitalized for an afternoon because of it, and upon being released spent 3 days at home on sick leave from work. Brandon came home from work early on the first day of my release and asked me if there was anything he could do for me. Having been home all day I had flitted through the Penny saver, pointed at the ad of my interest and said "I want a puppy." He picked my weak body up off the couch, carried me to the car, and proceeded to drive me to the address in the penny savor. We were met with a litter of 12 cute bundles, but I instantly knew which one I wanted. I picked her up and said this is the one! Brandon paid the man the $300 dollars and we brought her home on the same day. He asked me what I wanted to name her on the way home and we drove by Jersey Street. I liked the ring of it, and happily announced her new name: "Jersey." Jersey slept next to me during my recovery and went to work with me at the daycare for the next several months. She never needed a leash because she would loyally prance by my side. She loved to lick the kids and play ball with them in the playground. She was the smartest dog I ever had! In the summer of 2007 Brandon and I went to India and Mexico for a missions trip, Jersey stayed with my parents at their house in their dog pen. When we got home from Mexico I greeted her first, then returned her to the pen to catch up with my dad while Brandon was at work. I decided to take a nap, but was soon woken up by my father yelling for my help in the backyard. Jersey had tried to break out of the pen and in doing so got her head caught between the side of the house and the pole holding the chain linked fence of the dog pen, she struggled to get free, breaking her neck in the process. When I got outside she has gasping for breathe but not moving. Dad and I lifted her free and carried her to the patio where she died in my arms. I called Brandon at work sobbing, he came over and we cried over our girl together before he and dad drove her out to Grandma's farm, to bury her alongside the other deceased family dogs.
Pet #9: Sampson
Breed: German Shepherd
Vitality: 2008-2020
Pet #2-3 Snipe and Westly
Breed: Tree Frogs
Vitality: 2002-2002 (approximately 4 months)
Cause of Death: Snipe disappeared only to be found Dehydrated in the Dryer with my Laundry. Westly disappeared never to be found again.
Details: While in College, I wanted to own a pet so Brandon and I bought some tree frogs to live in my room. After a while, they proved to be boring as they slept mostly during the day and were active (and annoying) while I tried to sleep at night. The other nuisance was the need to feed them live meals such as crickets and mealworms. One night after returning from classes I realized that the crickets had escaped the 10 gallon tank. Crickets were everywhere in my room! ON the walls, floorboards, in my bed. I shut the door and called my Boyfriend-Brandon, crying. HE came that night to rescue me form the pet infestation and collected EVERY SINGLE CRICKET. Upon returning them to the cage we noticed that the frogs must have chased their meals through the escape route. Our attempts to locate them were futile. I found snipe in the dryer vent of a load of laundry a week later. He must have been hiding in my dirty clothes pile. Whoops.Pet #4: Wheezer
Breed: Ball Python
Vitality: 2003-2014
Cause of Death: Pneumonia
Details: Brandon loves snakes. Always has. When we were dating he would catch snakes in the wild all the time. Occasionally he brought them home as pets. I remember one time, I went to visit him and found a Gardner snake wound up on the door handle of his apartment, it had slithered out of its box. Another such event involved an afternoon when Brandon called me at home, excited about a ball python that he found slithering outside of his Nana's house. HE decided to keep it and wanted my retired frog tank to put it in. I climbed into the attic of the home I was living in, collected the tank, cleaned it out and just as I was about to drive it to him (an hour away) he called and said he decided not to keep the snake because it bit him. At that point I knew, that if I went through with our engagement and proceeded to marry this man, owning a snake was going to be inevitable. Having a fear of snakes, I decided that I would buy him a baby snake that I would handle at a young age so that it (and I) would grow accustomed to one another. I went to Petco that night, they had ONE Ball Python left, it was on sale from 79.99 to 29.99. I bought it without hesitation. I packed it into the newly cleansed tank with a reinforced lid and heat lamp and drove to Brandon with my surprise. We played with it all evening and realized that he made a funny wheezing noise when he breathed. I called the pet store and learned that Wheezer (not named after the band) had escaped and gone missing at the pet store. They found him in the fish tanks eating happily. His body temperature dropped and he probably had pneumonia. They sent us to a nearby Vet who injected the snake with several antibiotics and vaccines.
Wheezer recovered and lived with us for the first 3 years of our marriage. By year 3, he escaped his upgraded 50 gallon tank and disappeared for 3 months. Then, one afternoon while switching loads in the washing machine, I saw his half limp body sticking between the machine drum and side. I called Brandon thinking the animal was dead. But no...he lived through this! We deduced that he had been living in the walls of our East Stockton home eating mice, gotten thirsty and crawled into the Washing machine for a drink via the hose, when I turned the machine on his fattened body threw the drum off nearly breaking our washing machine. IN 2007 Brandon and I gave Wheeze to a friend when we became foster parents. Wheeze made annual trips to my classroom for visitations and feedings in my science classrooms. IN 2014, our friend could no longer keep Wheezer as they were expecting their first child, and so Wheezer moved into my 6th grade classroom in a 100 gallon tank. He lived there for 6 months before I found him cold at the bottom one tragic morning. HE had started to breathe funny again, but I was not able to catch it in time, and therefore we think he died of the same illness that tried to take his life earlier.
Pet #5 Sneakers the Keekers.
Breed: Maincoon Mix
Vitality: 2004-2014
Cause of Death: Unknown-dissapearance. Suspected Catnapping
He moved with us to 4 different houses, but after living with us for 2 1/2 years in our current home he up and disappeared. I called him by name in my usually chant, but he never came home. It was the saddest day when I realized we lost him and it took me some time to recover from the unknown of his whereabouts. Over the years many commented on his huge size, loving nature and beautiful colors. WE interrupted a couple trying to take him off our front porch in our third home which leads me to think he was taken. He was too smart to get hit by a car. Brandon suspects that his heart murmur got the best of him and he curled up in a corner somewhere for his last catnap. We will never know the truth.
Breed: Calico
Vitality: 2005-2005
Cause of Death: Eaten by Coyotes
Details: While living in the country house, I found a female cat abandonded by her owner wandering the dirt road that lead to our house. She was starving and friendly so I invited her into our home with the clicking of my tongue and she came in with my beckoning. She ate hungrily but Keekee wanted nothing to do with her and chased her out of the house. I let her live in our laundry room as she pleased for about a month but she loved to hunt outside at night. One night we heard coyotes outside our bedroom window-they were closer than they had ever come to the house and their incessant howls frightened me I made Brandon grab his shotgun so that he could chase them off as he tried to beckon Caly into the house for safety. She never came in. We never saw her again.
Pet #7 Horny Toad
Breed: Bullfrog
Vitality: 2005-2006
Cause of death: stabbed by a pencil
Details: Brandon and I caught a toad outside our country home and put him in a tank for my classroom of preschoolers. We named him after a line from our favorite movie at the time, Oh brother where art thou, "she loved him up and turned him into a horny toad!" My fours class loved him and would squeal when he peed on them each time they tried to pick him up! I continued his life in my classroom as I taught my first year in private school-7th/8th grade students, thinking his name seemed even more appropriate with all the hormones produced by preteens. He was a welcomed attribute until one day after returning from having a sub I found him speared through with a pencil. No students fessed up to witnessing the crime, therefore Horny's death remains a Cold case.
Pet #8: Jersey
Breed: German Shepherd
Vitality: 2005-2007
Cause of death: Broken Neck
After being married for 10 months I began to incur panic attacks from stress that, at the time, I was in deep denial of. I was hospitalized for an afternoon because of it, and upon being released spent 3 days at home on sick leave from work. Brandon came home from work early on the first day of my release and asked me if there was anything he could do for me. Having been home all day I had flitted through the Penny saver, pointed at the ad of my interest and said "I want a puppy." He picked my weak body up off the couch, carried me to the car, and proceeded to drive me to the address in the penny savor. We were met with a litter of 12 cute bundles, but I instantly knew which one I wanted. I picked her up and said this is the one! Brandon paid the man the $300 dollars and we brought her home on the same day. He asked me what I wanted to name her on the way home and we drove by Jersey Street. I liked the ring of it, and happily announced her new name: "Jersey." Jersey slept next to me during my recovery and went to work with me at the daycare for the next several months. She never needed a leash because she would loyally prance by my side. She loved to lick the kids and play ball with them in the playground. She was the smartest dog I ever had! In the summer of 2007 Brandon and I went to India and Mexico for a missions trip, Jersey stayed with my parents at their house in their dog pen. When we got home from Mexico I greeted her first, then returned her to the pen to catch up with my dad while Brandon was at work. I decided to take a nap, but was soon woken up by my father yelling for my help in the backyard. Jersey had tried to break out of the pen and in doing so got her head caught between the side of the house and the pole holding the chain linked fence of the dog pen, she struggled to get free, breaking her neck in the process. When I got outside she has gasping for breathe but not moving. Dad and I lifted her free and carried her to the patio where she died in my arms. I called Brandon at work sobbing, he came over and we cried over our girl together before he and dad drove her out to Grandma's farm, to bury her alongside the other deceased family dogs.Breed: German Shepherd
Vitality: 2008-2020
Cause of death: Old Age
Details: Just after Brandon broke his collar bone while preforming God in the Church Youth group series "Wrestling with God" I decided that it was time to buy a new puppy. Having fallen in love with the German Shepherd Breed he and I found G.S. pups in the Penny Savor and picked up the floppy eared runt of the litter. He quickly became our baby boy and we taught him a plethora of tricks: Sit, stay, roll over, shake, speak, whisper, fetch, crawl, etc. Despite his quick wits, or maybe because of them, he was extremely active and hated being left alone during the day! He was responsible for pulling up the linoleum in our rented home as well as eating a HOLE in the wall of the laundry room. But since we lived on the EAST side, I feared he would be stolen if we left him outside and so it was he who taught us the beauty of crate-training. One Summer night, when he was about 8 months old, I woke up to Sampson growling at a noise downstairs, I opened the door to our bedroom and he sprinted full speed down the stairs. Scared I woke Brandon up to follow him, and he discovered that someone had broken into our house via the back kitchen door and Sampson had scared them and chased them out. Brandon rewarded Sampson with praise after praise that night!
Sampson truly is the most loving dog, but he is very loyal and protective. So much so that when we moved, the mailman refused to deliver our mail because Sampson would jump up on the open screen door and bark ferociously at him upon arrival. One afternoon I was weeding the front yard and Sampson was laying by my feet when the mailman came passing by. Sampson got up, barked and ran up to the mailman, the mailman was scared to wits and Maced Sampson in the face...Sampson liked it so much he started licking the mace as it was being sprayed. When we brought home our first child, Sampson would sleep under her crib, and lick her toes as she got older and learned to stick them out of the crib slots. He is excellent with kids and slept at the bottom of the stairs at night protecting all his humans.
In 2020, Sammy was put to sleep as he could not live through our move to Oregon. He was blind and deaf and a new environment would have been too hard on him.
Details: Just after Brandon broke his collar bone while preforming God in the Church Youth group series "Wrestling with God" I decided that it was time to buy a new puppy. Having fallen in love with the German Shepherd Breed he and I found G.S. pups in the Penny Savor and picked up the floppy eared runt of the litter. He quickly became our baby boy and we taught him a plethora of tricks: Sit, stay, roll over, shake, speak, whisper, fetch, crawl, etc. Despite his quick wits, or maybe because of them, he was extremely active and hated being left alone during the day! He was responsible for pulling up the linoleum in our rented home as well as eating a HOLE in the wall of the laundry room. But since we lived on the EAST side, I feared he would be stolen if we left him outside and so it was he who taught us the beauty of crate-training. One Summer night, when he was about 8 months old, I woke up to Sampson growling at a noise downstairs, I opened the door to our bedroom and he sprinted full speed down the stairs. Scared I woke Brandon up to follow him, and he discovered that someone had broken into our house via the back kitchen door and Sampson had scared them and chased them out. Brandon rewarded Sampson with praise after praise that night!
In 2020, Sammy was put to sleep as he could not live through our move to Oregon. He was blind and deaf and a new environment would have been too hard on him.
Pet #10 Shmoozie
Breed: Cat-grey
Vitality: 2011-?
Status: Ran Away
Details: While eating her dinner one stormy evening in October, Hannah pointed at our outside patio room saying "gee gee" repeatedly. In her baby talk that meant kitty. Thinking she meant Keekers, I opened the patio door to let him in and found a soaked kitten hiding behind a box. I brought him inside to dry him off and Hannah squealed with delight. She played with the kitten all evening. He lived with us through the holidays and would climb up our Christmas tree to snooze on the top branches in the winter month. But then, he started to mature into a cat and began to pee all over the house marking his territory and challenging Keekeer's authority. The two of them started to fight for dominance, and since I wasn't in love with the cat, and Hannah's affections for him had begun to wear off, I opened the garage and let him scamper off.Pet #11 Tiny
Breed: Miniature Pincher/Chihuahua Mix
Vitality: 2012-? DOGNAPPED
Details: Brandon brought Home a puppy for Hannah's 3rd birthday. His Aunt had taken him in as one of her ongoing rescue projects. Hannah loved him and he loved her in return! he slept with my toddlers at night curled up in a ball at the bottom of her bed. She and Zechi would fight over who got to hold him and he would bounce happily from lap to lap. We had him for 2 months before he was stolen from our backyard. Pet #11 Rosco
Breed: Rabbit of some sort
Vitality: April 2012-June 2012
Cause of Death: Car
Details: Over Easter I decided that it would be cute to take pictures of the kids with a bunny. While
Pet #12 Peaches
Breed: Chihuahua Mix
Vitality: 2012-?
Status: Possible Petco Adoption
Details:
I was visiting my parents one drizzly day after Tiny disappeared and saw a dog roaming the streets. I beckoned it close and she came to me. She was friendly, wet and cold with no collar of identification. I picked her up and set her in the trunk of my Prius. When I brought her home the kids were delighted to have another puppy to play with. I made FOUND ads and placed them throughout the neighborhoods in the vicinity of my parents home. No one called so we decided to keep her. She was a great dog with only one exception-she bolted out the front door every chance she got! I would chase her down time and time again. Once while loading the kids up for the grocery store, Peaches bolted out the front door and took off down the street. I was done chasing her! My kids wailed and pleaded, and we drove down the street to find her. Peaches saw us, and ran each time I got out of the car to nab her. It was a game to Peach! But I was frustrated and decided that if she wanted to come home, she knew where we lived and drove off. Peaches chased the car after us for 2 blocks. When we got home with groceries she was no where in sight. Several Weeks later the kids and I were headed to Target on errand and noticed that the Petco next door was hosting a Pet adoption. The kids and I went to see the variety of hounds and Hannah started yelling out "Peaches momma its Peaches!" Thinking she found a dog similar I shushed her, but upon closer examination I believed it truly was our runaway mutt. As Hannah drew closer to the dog in question Peaches' tail started to wag incessantly upon the recognition of her human child. I reached up, pet her nose, snapped a picture of her with my cell phone to text the impossibility to Brandon and whispered into the pooch's face "Good luck in your next home Peach. Hopefully you've learned your lesson and won't run away again." And with that, I picked up my toddlers and carried them into Target poo-pooing their cryies saying "Peaches is going to a new home now."
Pet #12-14 Heckle, Jeckle and Mr. Hyde
Breed: Red-eared sliders (turtles) and Tadpole turned frog.
Vitality: 2011-present
Details: I wanted a living habitat for my science classroom, and Carter's pet supply had dime sized turtles that I found adorable. Due to Salmonella poisoning the baby turtles could only be bought for educational purposes. I flashed my credential and came home with two. I threw in the frog that my kindergarten class had watched transform through metamorphosis the year prior. My students loved the habitat. One day, I came in and discovered that overnight, Heckle and Jeckle had eaten Mr. Hyde. Later on we tried adding 3 crawdads that the kids brought home from a camping trip to the tank, thinking they were safe as they were 3 times bigger than the turtles. They too, turned out to be an appetizing meal for the turtles. My dream of a living habitat was devastated as I learned that Turtles will eat just about anything. They lived in my classroom for the next 4 years, when I was given the assignment for teaching 7/8 math I no longer had purpose for them in our classroom. The were in our front room as living art and the kids and I enjoyed watching them eat the fish., until one day heckle decided to try out cannibalism and eat Jeckle. Heckle lived on until he outgrew his tank and was donated to our friend’s pond.
Pet #15: Izzy
Breed: Bull Mastiff
Vitality: 2013-Present
Details: Izzy was my brother in law's dog. He and his girlfriend decided it was time to take things to the next level and adopt a puppy. They loved her as their own for about 3 months before their land lord discovered her and gave her the boot. Brandon was visiting them the sad night that they learned they couldn't keep her and decided to bring her home for the kids. It was 11:30 at night when he got home and all of us were sound asleep. HE woke me up in our dark room and said "now, don't be mad but I got a puppy for the kids." Jolted awake with the news I can say I was not happy. WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THIS and decided that we were not going to have ANY more animals! I had 3 kids under 3 years of age and that was PLENTY of work, besides I was the one who picked up the Dog crap and took care of Sampson as it was I did not want another one! My fury swarmed when a giant 60 pound "puppy" made her way into my room. Her massive tail slamming painfully against my leg! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? I nearly screamed! She would knock the kids over and slobber the baby! I told him to get rid of her and went back to sleep. IN the morning, I was met with slobbered kisses from the dog. Of course, by now the kids had seen her and decided that they loved her. I was trapped. I researched her breed and informed Brandon that they are known for being lazy but lovable, and chew constantly. Everything I researched proved accurate as she is the sweetest Dog EVER but destroys anything left out including: 3 bikes, a lawn mower, a long list of mangled barbies and toys, too many shoes to count, 2 hoses, an extension cord, and our ping pong table, just to name a few items that have fallen victim to her addictive chewing habits. Oh, did I mention she is impossible to house train and thinks that Tabitha's bed is her pee zone and Zechi's room is her Giant Poop palace? She's lucky she is amazingly gentle with the kids because if she wasn't she would be long gone! Pet #16: Sassy
Breed: Russian Cat
Vitality: 2013-?
Status: Ran Away
Details:
Sassy was found while at school. A student found the kitten on his way to school, shoved it in his backpack and decided to keep her. Her incessant Mews in class gave her location away, and upon calling home the student's mother replied: Absolutely not! And So, Sassy made her cute appearance at the teacher's lounge for Monday Staff meeting. Another teacher took her home, but returned her the next day when her husband denied residence for the kitten. Therefore, I brought her home as a gift for Hannah-my child who loves all things living, and the two took to each other instantly. She was the weirdest kitten ever and would preen and suckle Hannah's blankets in her sleep. Sassy got her name from Hannah's favorite movie at the time: Homeward Bound. But, when our friend moved in, the two were not compatible as my friend was allergic to cats, so Sassy moved outside with Sneakers. Unlike him, she did not adjust well. She would sit at the window on the front stoop Meowing loudly all night long begging to be let back in. Then, she started attracting all the Tomcats in town and after being raped she went crazy. She was mean and would scratch and claw at the kids if they tried to help her. She peed all over my front porch rug and dug up my flowers in the flower beds to obtain her revenge I am sure. So, one night I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, threw her in the SUV and gave her a one way trip to the nearby canal. I opened the door and she bolted out of the car on her own, sat in the middle of the road and stared me down. My heart lumped and I felt guilty for what I was about to do. When I got out of the vehicle to grab and take her back home she darted into a bush and clamored up over the concrete wall of the neighboring gated community. I waved goodbye and shouted "Good riddance!" She made routine appearances in and around our neighborhood several times since the date of her release. Breed: Blue-bellied lizard
Vitality: 2014-? (survived 2 weeks with us)
Released into the wild
Details: I got home from work and was met by a lizard, hanging by the tail in my face "Look what dad caught mom!" Brandon had caught a lizard in the front yard and the kids were obsessed with it. They even had a tank set up on our kitchen table to watch it. Without a heat lamp the reptile did not get enough heat and One morning, I thought it was dead. I left it on the log for the kids to find, they didn't notice by the time I got home as they were still happily playing with its limp body. After they went to bed, I picked it up to dispose of it quietly when to my surprise it started moving. I eloquently shrieked and threw it in the air! It fell to the floor and lived through the trauma so I released it in the backyard around some rocks. I put the tank away that night and told the kids it died the next morning. Best of Luck in the wild Lizzery.
Pets #18-22 Jeffe, Apollo, Mickey, Bruno and Bear
Breed: Bull Mastiff/German Shepherd mix
Vitality: 2014-Present
Deceased: Bear
Cause of Death: unknown
Status: Other 4 Adopted into loving homes.
Details: We went to Disneyland over thanksgiving break and returned only to notice that Izzy was pregnant. A huge shock I Assure you seeing as how she was never let out of the house leaving Sampson the only option as Father. We had been told by 3 vets that Uno here was sterile seeing as he only had one ball sack and that was deficient. Turns out they were mistaken, and a week later while hosting the BOYS night for Youth group, Izzy launched into Full labor. Hannah was giddy with delight and claimed the credit saying that "She had prayed for puppies" and that she had "watched Izzy and Sampson get married 3 times." When asked what she was talking about she said she saw: "Sampson jump on Izzy and they did a dance!" She stayed up with Izzy and I until 2am and assisted in the birth of 4 out of 5 puppies. " Mom, How do the puppies get inside of Izzy?" We had all kinds of life discussions that night! We kept the puppies for 6 weeks before the first 2 made their way to their new homes. By week 8, another puppy found a home and one of our puppies died in his sleep while we were away at work and school. We cried for the not so little guy, each one of those pups had weaseled into our hearts. Our last puppy flew to his new home in Colorado at 10 weeks old. Hannah earned a badge for her girl scout Apron for raising the pups responsibly, it was her job to clean their waste out of their living area EVERY DAY, and she had to keep their water dish clean and full-not an easy task for a 5 year old I assure you.
Pet #23: Spot
Breed: Blue-bellied Lizard
Vitality: June 2015-July 2015 (2 weeks)
Cause of Death: Loved too much
Details: While taking a family bike ride on our mammoth vacation, Hannah screeched her two wheels to a stop in the middle of the bike path. She hopped off her bike and went into full animal catching mode, whereupon she picked up a lizard proclaiming it would be her new pet. The Lizard had 3 legs "Its missing a leg just like dad!" She squealed, and so Brandon and I gave her permission to keep it seeing as how it had little to no chance of survival anyway. She word her new pet for the remaining 2 days of vacation and the lizard would stay on the sleeve of her sweatshirt or crawl across her neck without trying for escape. When we got home, she helped clean out one of our 10-gallon tanks (yes we have collected 3 over the years that now live in our attic in between transient pets) and made him a home with rocks, dirt, succulents and a toy doll house. Each day she would put him outside in a Tupperware dish so he could get sunlight. One day she came down and said "Mom, Spot needs sun because he is cold." not thinking much about it I pointed to the tub and sent her on her way. While taking out the trash I noticed that Spot was not only cold, but stiff as well. He was a goner. So I picked him up by the tail, tossed him into the bushes and tipped over the container. Knowing how devastated she would be if her died, I thought it better to let her think he ran away. I said nothing and about an hour later, when she went to check on him, she came in frantic: "MOM SPOT IS GONE?!" What happened? I responded playing dumb. "I don't know, I put him out there but the tub was tipped over and now he is gone!" I hugged her and encouraged her to go look for him in the grass, which she did for about 20 min. Then She came in defeated: "Oh well, mom, I guess he will find a new lizard family." I guess so sis, in heaven with all of our others.Pet #24: Rhino
Breed: Bullfrog
Vitality: July 2015-2 days
Cause of Death: Drowning
Details: Zechi asked to have tadpoles for his birthday. Being the science teaching mother that I am I thought this was a wonderful idea! It was the Tuesday before his actual birthday, and I couldn't wait so we went to the pet store and to our disappointment they were sold out of tadpoles. We looked around and Zechi found the bullfrog for $5.99 and decided that this is what he wanted as replacement. I told him we could wait and come back later but his mind was made up. We brought the Frog home and I listened to him shriek with delight as the slimy thing bounced all around his room! The next day we were painting the set for VBS outside and Hannah had a friend over. She and her friend wanted to play with Rhino. At lunchtime I realized the poor thing must have been handled for at least an hour and told the girls to put him back in his tank because he needed water. Hannah did as I told her, but instead of letting him go in his tank, she held him under water until he stopped moving. She told Brandon that something was wrong with Rhino and upon inspection he realized she had killed it by accident. Zechi was mortified at the loss of his friend, and said nothing for a couple of hours. Then finally he told me "Mom, Rhino was old and died so he is with Jesus now." I never said anything to correct his presumption. Pet #25: Bunny The HULK
Breed: Rex red Rabbit
Vitality: July 2015-one week to the day
Death: Tabby sat on him
Details: I felt so bad about Zechi's dead frog that I took him to the pet store to buy another, but instead he set his heart on the furry little bunny huddled in the corner of its crate. We picked him up and it snuggled right into Zechi's neck. He was in love. We bought bedding and rabbit food and he carried the little guy all the way home. When we got home, the girls were instructed NOT TO TOUCH as it was Zechi's birthday present. My son held the bunny the rest of the night and fell asleep next to it. We feed the bunny spinach, carrots, pellets and strawberries that Zechi picked for him out of our garden. The bunny was held by Zechi every chance he got. Unfortunatly Tabitha took a liking to the little creature. The following Friday, I took a nap and woke up to Brandon saying "I think the bunny is dead." My heart dropped. My son would be devastated. I asked Brandon where the bunny was, he said he put it back in the crate. I looked and sure enough, the sweet thing was stiff. Tabby had taken the bunny out of the crate without Brandon notching and sat on him, probably to the point of suffocation, but we are still unclear. When Brandon asked her why she sat on him she said "We were playing Chicken and he was my egg." I disposed of the body before Zechi noticed. It took 2 hours before he asked about the bunny. "He was sick so I had to take him back to the store." Satisfied, he walked away. Brandon took him to the toy store and bought him the Lego Superhero video game and a PS4 controller as his final birthday present.
Details: I felt so bad about Zechi's dead frog that I took him to the pet store to buy another, but instead he set his heart on the furry little bunny huddled in the corner of its crate. We picked him up and it snuggled right into Zechi's neck. He was in love. We bought bedding and rabbit food and he carried the little guy all the way home. When we got home, the girls were instructed NOT TO TOUCH as it was Zechi's birthday present. My son held the bunny the rest of the night and fell asleep next to it. We feed the bunny spinach, carrots, pellets and strawberries that Zechi picked for him out of our garden. The bunny was held by Zechi every chance he got. Unfortunatly Tabitha took a liking to the little creature. The following Friday, I took a nap and woke up to Brandon saying "I think the bunny is dead." My heart dropped. My son would be devastated. I asked Brandon where the bunny was, he said he put it back in the crate. I looked and sure enough, the sweet thing was stiff. Tabby had taken the bunny out of the crate without Brandon notching and sat on him, probably to the point of suffocation, but we are still unclear. When Brandon asked her why she sat on him she said "We were playing Chicken and he was my egg." I disposed of the body before Zechi noticed. It took 2 hours before he asked about the bunny. "He was sick so I had to take him back to the store." Satisfied, he walked away. Brandon took him to the toy store and bought him the Lego Superhero video game and a PS4 controller as his final birthday present. Pet# 26 Mr. Grey Bunbun
Breed: rabbit
Vitality: 2016-2021
Cause of Death: Unknown-disappearance, Suspected Hawk food
Breed: rabbit
Vitality: 2016-2021
Cause of Death: Unknown-disappearance, Suspected Hawk food
Pet# 27 Houdini
Breed: rabbit
Vitality: 2016-3 months
Cause of Death: Unknown-disappearance, suspected runaway
Vitality: 2016-3 months
Cause of Death: Unknown-disappearance, suspected runaway
Pet# 28 Journey
Breed: rabbit
Vitality: 2016-2 months
Cause of Death: Izzy, licked to death
Vitality: 2016-2 months
Cause of Death: Izzy, licked to death
Pet #29 Pirate
Breed: Cat
Vitality: 10/2017-11/2018
Cause of Death: Hit by a car
Vitality: 10/2017-11/2018
Cause of Death: Hit by a car
Pet#30 Cushions
Breed: Cat
Vitality: 2017-Present
Vitality: 2017-Present
Pet #31 Jack Sparrow
Breed: Mock Jay
Vitality: 2020-2 weeks
Cause of Death: Desi
Pet #32 Slider
Breed: Turtle
Vitality: 2020-2 months
Cause of death: unknown, released in field canal
Pet #33 Copper
Breed: Rottweiler
Vitality: 11/2020-present
Pets#34-45 Salt, Pepper, Vanilla, Creamy, Snipe, Bailey, Timber, Red, sunflower, dandelion, Petal
Breed: Chickens
Vitality: not long at all
Cause of death: 5 died as chicks, 1 drowned, 5 eaten by raccoons, 2 eaten by hawks
Pets #46-50 Pocket, LuckyDucky, Bright Bill, April
Breed: Ducks
Vitality not long
Cause of death: copper played with pocket, lucky ducky found dead in coop (unknown), BrightBill & April we suspect we’re eaten by raccoons (only found feathers)
Pets #51-61 Willow, Flora, Pumpkin, Popeye, Peepers, Kiwi, Hawk, Monarch, Sailor, Dougie Nuggie
Breed: More Chickens
Vitality: spring 2023 -present
Pet #62 Chipmunk
Breed: Brahma Chicken
Vitality:Spring 2021-present
Pets #63-64 Asher, Ember (AKA Bobcat)
Breed: Cattins likely manecoon mix
Vitality: 11/2022-Present
Pet #65 Beardo
Breed: Bearded Dragon
Vitality: 7/2022-7/2023
Cause of death: Calcium deficiency
Pet #66: Scout
Breed: Rabbit
Vitality: 8/2022-1/2023
Cause of death: Froze to death
Pet #67 Slappy
Breed: Garter Snake
Vitality: 4/2022-1 month
Cause of death: released in the wild because Hannah didn’t want to feed it slugs
Pets# 68-74 potatoe chip, lime, green apple, bagel, others I named
Breed tree frogs & salamanders
Vitality 11/2023-present
Captured in the Forrest by tabby, living in tabby made terrarium in tabby’s room.
Pet #75 Biscuit
Breed: Rabbit
Vitality: 12/26/2023-present
Pet #76 unnamed
Breed: hermit crab
Vitality: 1/2024- present
TLS science experiment turned pet
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