The furbabies

I thought it was time to introduce our furbabies since they're a huge part of our lives.



This is Penny, aka Pennymonster, Puppyface, Penners, and a host of other silly nicknames. We adopted her from MoKan Greyhound Adoption in January. She is my first dog ever, and I have been missing out! We adore her. She is a good transition dog for a cat person because despite being super fast, she's actually pretty lazy. Most days she loves sleeping on the couch or on top of squishy blankets and pillows. Her favorite thing in the world is a cheeseburger.



This is Pandy. I adopted her as a junior in college in 2005 from an animal shelter in Chapel Hill. She was the first furbaby and has put up with a lot over the years, including several moves, several other cats, and an 1100 mile drive to Kansas. She is the most chill cat I've ever met...you can do pretty much anything and it doesn't phase her one bit. Her full name is Pandora, which is an appropriate name because she tries to get into/open EVERYTHING.



This is Tigger, our big boy. I found him at our apartment complex in Morrisville NC in 2008. We had seen him the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and thought he was someone's pet. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, I saw him again near the parking lot, sitting in a patch of grass looking pitiful. My sister was driving and I told her to stop the car. I scooped him up and walked up 3 flights of stairs with him in my arms. He came inside with us and that was that! I fully believe he was put in my life on purpose to help me with the grieving process of another cat, Simon, who we had to put down in November of that year because he had lymphoma. Tigger came into my life just at the right time...I think God knew I needed something to take care of after losing Simon.

As you can see, I've adopted or found all of my animals. I am 100% against buying dogs and cats when there are so many in shelters and on the streets that need a good home. If you are looking for a specific breed, I highly recommend checking out petfinder or looking up rescue organizations for that breed-chances are there is one in your area. Purebreds get dumped into shelters every day, so if you're willing to wait, you CAN find the dog or cat you want without having to pay tons of money, and you're giving that animal a second chance at a forever home. I really can't think of many situations where someone would NEED to buy their dog, other than maybe someone using a dog for hunting and needed the proven bloodlines of hunting ability, or something like that. The problem with most breeders is that they are not reputable-aka not doing it to better the breed, they're just in it to make money. Most reputable breeders will already have homes picked out before they even start the process of getting a brood mama pregnant, they will have strict guidelines about the health of their animals, will be able to show you championship papers for the sires and dams, and will have a long waiting list. Hint: animals you can buy at a pet store, EVEN if they say they are not from puppy mills...are not from reputable breeders. Your neighbor who decided it might be fun to breed their dog...not a reputable breeder. That cute puggle/cockapoo/doodle mix is not from a reputable breeder because it's NOT a real breed! Those cutesy names were invented by people who cross breed on purpose in order to make the dogs sellable. "Mutt" doesn't have the same effect, which is what they are. Nothing against those dogs, because my aunt had one for years and she was the sweetest dog, but let's get real: it's not a purebred, it's a crossbreed, not recognized by animal kennel clubs, and to pay astronomical prices for one is just silly.

Sorry to go off on a tangent, it is just a passion of mine to help shelter animals! :)