My Fuzzies
Pets are a huge part of my life - the ones that live with me now, the ones I've fostered as they move in their lives from rescue to their forever homes, as well as the ones that I help through Kim's Fuzzies.
I had a variety of pets growing up - cats, dogs, rabbits, finches, frogs... When I got married in 1987 our married life began in a home with a no pets clause and my fish, Goldie.
Soon after we returned from our honeymoon, Skootch, our orange tabby moved into our home. We heard him outside one day and opened our door. He walked in and stayed as if he had always lived there. We hid him from the no pets rule for 2 years.
My brother gifted us with Hobbs the hamster who, unfortunately escaped from his pen one night and was actually literally scared to death at seeing Skootch.
When we bought our home in 1990, we received Mocha, a wonderful yellow lab bred by our friends Michael and Gerri.
In 1995 my friend Brenda rescued a litter of kittens and Shadow, our grey tabby, moved in.
In intervening years I moved a series of fish, crabs, frogs etc. through the tank in the kitchen. Currently guppies have taken over and the tank has moved into my office where it can be enjoyed by a lot more people.
In 2001, the year before Mocha died of brain cancer, Tobee, our black panther, moved in to care for her. He had only lived in our home for a month when she had her first seizure. During seizures, Tobee would walk alongside her and hold her up. He slept on her head and watched after her when she was ill. I know that God sent him to us to help her and us through that very rough transition.
In October of 2002 we brought Borrego, our golden retriever, into our lives. She has been a fun and challenging addition as she is very headstrong but Kim has patiently brought her through all the levels of obedience, including Canine Good Citizenship, as well as tricks, and agility.
In late September of 2005 I adopted Sasha, a Russian hamster, from a couple in North Park who were selling their possessions just to make ends meet. Sasha lived with us for about a year before dying, as hamsters will do in way too short of a time.
In order to curb the influx of new permanent pets into our home, I began fostering in 2004 and have a fun and full set of fuzzies constantly rotating through the house.
Of course the fostering didn't stop me in April of 2007 from adopting Gwen and Abby, the first two rats I've added to my life. Unfortunately Abby died in October of the same year leaving Gwen heartbroken. In order to make Gwen feel better, I adopted Autumn and Summer, a pair of 3 month old sisters who have been a joyful addition to our lives and the 3 story custom ratty cage.