Our furry friends!

I realized that I have neglected to introduce you all to our furry friends, I apologize! We have three cats, and two dogs. They were our first babies, and we love them (the girls and I do anyway!) very much.

QUEEN PATCHES

I have had Patches for 15 years. Her mother was a stray, and when she had kittens we took them in, and she is the only one who stuck around. This poor kitty has been through so much in her little life. When she was about a year and a half old, she disappeared for a couple of weeks. We called and looked for her, but could'nt find her. This was NOT like her, she usually stayed right around the house. Well, one day my mom called me at work and told me that they found her, she was out in the woods, hanging on to a metal fence. Her right back leg had been broken, and twisted in the metal. They had to use wire cutters to get her out. We took her to the vet, and she put screws in the bone (sorry if this is too grafic for you!) but it ended up not taking. Then we were going to amputate it, but she started to act like she would use it. Did I mention that she lost her middle two toes due to the fact that the fence squished them? So we just let her be, she just hopped around. She was now a full time house cat. Unfortunately this is not the end of the story, in 2001 she broke it again up above the original fracture, so this time we decided it would be best for her to amputate it. She gets along like nothing ever happened. Also, I have to mention that this is ABSOLUTELY THE SWEETEST CAT I have ever known. I guess she figures nothing you could do to her comes close to where she's been.

PRINCESS SOPHIE

Next is Sophie, she is about 8 years old. My step father was at a gas station one day, and the lady working there was trying to chase her away with a broom. At the time, she was only a little kitten. She is also a VERY sweet cat. And she LOVES ME!!! She likes to get up on my shoulder, and hug me while she purrs, and kneads my hair with her front paws. She is kind of skiddish around people she does'nt know, but she's good with the kids.

Oh, and get this Mary-Mia she does tricks too!!! I found this out by mistake, when she was still a kitten. She loves playing with paper, and if you wad it up in a ball, and throw it, she will chase it, pick it up, and bring it back to you, then drop it so you can throw it again. We use to do this over and over! It's just too funny.

PRINCESS ISABELLE

Isabelle was found by Matt, AT SEARS. In 1998 he was working at Sears, and she just kind of showed up in the store. We did not know where she came from. Another couple was in there shopping, and we all made a deal, we would flip a coin, and whoever lost, would have to take the cat. Well, needless to say, we lost. But, she turned out to be a sweety also. She's not quite as tolerant with the girls as Patches or Sophie, she just stays away when she's had enough.

OUR BOYS! Hey guys, pay attention!

MR. DAKOTA

Our old boy Dakota has been with us for almost 11 years. He is a Golden Retriever. We got him when he was 10 weeks old. We were dating at the time, Matt kept him during the week, and I got him for the weekends. He is just a big clumsy baby, full of energy. He was really our first baby as a couple. We faught over how to raise him, so I guess it's good that we had a dog before we had kids, to get that out of the way.

MR. JACK

We adopted Jack from an animal shelter in Tallahassee, Florida. We lived there for the first couple years of our marriage. He is a SUPER SWEET dog, who is great with the girls!!! I'm not sure what he is, but I would guess a mix between an Irish Setter and a Chocolate Lab. He has come such a long way since the first time I saw him. He was so pittyful, but has become the best dog!

Both boys are due for a good hair cut! It gets really hot here during the summer, so every year I get out the clippers and shave them down. They love getting clipped, they know it will make them so much cooler. I will have to post pictures after they're trimmed up a bit.