I’m an animal lover, there’s no doubt about that. I grew up with animals… lots of them. From horses to dogs to cats to hamsters to turtles to fish to rabbits… I had them all growing up. This page is about the animals who are currently in my life.
Sadie and Jake- cats
7 year old calico and white and 4 year old black and white
Sadie
(Princess Sadie)
As soon as I got my first apartment, I just had to get an animal because I was lost without one for the year I spent on campus at college. One of the best animals to get when you are in an apartment is, of course, a cat. And that’s where Sadie came in… kinda.
You see, I wasn’t actually in a place where I could even have a cat because I had just completed my first year of college and was home for the summer and would be returning on-campus for the first semester. One day, my dad came home with this itty-bitty 3 1/2 week old kitten.
A feral cat had kittens in the lumberyard where my dad worked as a salesman. Three weeks after she had them, she abandoned them. After four days of not seeing the mom, my dad and his coworkers decided that the kittens needed homes in order to survive. There were five kittens… three black ones, one grey tabby and a calico and white. By the end of the day, only the calico and white kitten was left (no clue why… she was the most beautiful!).
So my dad brought her home thinking my neighbor might want her since they had recently lost one of their cats… she never made it over there. I took one look at the kitten, and knew she was “the one.” I hadn’t planned on getting a cat until I got my own apartment after living on campus, but she was the exact coloring of the cat I’d always wanted. So my parents agreed to keep her at their house until I got my apartment, which was six months later.
Being born wild has influenced her personality, I think. She HATES strangers and will not come out when they are around. She also isn’t a cuddly cat, though she will sleep on my legs at night and wants to be pet when I’m using the bathroom. She also hates being picked up and getting her nails trimmed and will yowl, scratch and hiss for both of these events.
Jake
(Sir Jacob Spits-a-lot)
After graduating from college, I decided that I wanted another cat for a companion for Sadie. I decided to get a male just because they were easier to have neutered! I’d decided that I wanted a black and white cat (had one when I was younger) to be different from my beautiful calico and white female. I was at PetsMart and was just looking at the rescue kitties–not really ready to adopt.
I started talking to one of the rescue volunteers and she mentioned that she had a litter of 4-week-old kittens. It was perfect because I was going to be ready to adopt a month later. So I visited the foster home and couldn’t decide between a grey and white kitten and a black and white. But then the black and white licked me on the nose… I was smitten. He got his name because he used to hiss and spit all the time at me when I played with him as a kitten. He still does occasionally and it’s hilarious (he’s not upset or anything, just likes to do it).
Jake is very good at stealing things. He steals the satin sash off my robe. He steals the fuzzy toilet lid seat cover. He has even stolen the fuzzy bathroom rug. Oh, and he loves tape. To eat. Especially packaging tape off of boxes. Weirdo.
So here are some pictures of Jake and Sadie. I don’t have many because they are cats and are hard to catch sitting still!
Chase and Lulu- Greyhounds
8 1/2 year old red male and 2 year old blue fawn female
Chase
(J’s Fear Not)
When I was looking to buy my first home in the fall of 2005, I knew I wanted a dog. I love my cats dearly but both cats and dogs have different attitudes and personalities that fill different voids. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted, but I was pretty sure I wanted it to not have a lot of hair, be semi-quiet (no yappy-dogs!) and be medium to large sized.
After doing some research, I settled on either a Whippet or a Greyhound. I started visiting a Whippet forum and asking questions and was pointed to a Greyhound forum called Greytalk. After finding out more about both breeds, I decided on a Greyhound because they are sooo many waiting adoption (I wanted to adopt, not buy from a breeder). On the Greyhound forum, I was contacted by the president of a local Greyhound group, Compassion for Greyhounds. She knew that I wasn’t ready for the cost of owning a dog (I had to pay my mortgage and the last 6 months of my rental lease), so she wanted to know if I wanted to foster so that I could see if a Greyhound was right for me. It also helps them because the more foster homes they have, the more dogs they can bring into the program. It was December 2005 that I got my first foster dog.
Chase (racing name “J’s Fear Not”) was my third foster dog who came to me in April 2006. He was returned to the adoption group because his family was moving to Florida and didn’t want to take him with them. In just a few hours, I knew that he wasn’t going to leave my house. We chose each other.
Chase is a pet therapy dog… he and I have visited hospice patients to help make their last days better in the past. Currently, we are volunteering for the local Humane Society and visit the oncology floor of a local hospital. He is so perfect for this role as he just goes up to people and gently leans on them waiting for pets and scritches.
As far as stats go, Chase is about 29 inches at the shoulder and generally weighs around 76 pounds.
Lulu
(Miss Baloo)
In August 2006, I saw a plea on that same Greyhound forum for adoption groups to help two litters of puppies who were on a coyote hunting farm. A coyote hunting farm is where a person breeds Greyhounds (generally with another breed like a Staghound or Deerhound, but not always) and uses them to chase down and kill coyotes. They were oops litters and the owner didn’t want them. So even though I had decided not to foster anymore (Chase wasn’t happy with fosters coming in and out), my heart went out to them.
I contacted my adoption group and agreed to foster two (a third was also brought into our group). So the puppies were GURed (Greyhound Underground Railroad) from vehicle to vehicle from Kansas to where I picked them up in Chicago to bring them back to Michigan. They were just 4 1/2 months old and weighed around 32 pounds. The first puppy found a home pretty quickly. I wasn’t sure if I could deal with a Greyhound puppy for the next two years (how long it takes for them to get out of “puppy stage”), so I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep her. Four months later, I was at a work retreat and realized I couldn’t wait to come home to BOTH my babies. I knew that I couldn’t let Lulu leave my home. The rest is history.
Lulu is very much a lover who always wants to be on your lap. She also has a fetish with ears and feet… she’ll do anything she can to lick either of them on you. She’s good for a puppy but, as expected, still gets into things now and then. She’s learning though.
For stats, Lulu is about 31 inches tall at the shoulder and weighs 85 pounds. She is done growing and has finally filled out. In Greyhound terms, she’s a HUGE female… she’s the size of a very large male.
Sort of pissed–lets hunt coyotes? Don’t they have the right to survive, animal lover?
Editor’s note: If you had read the post correctly, you’d have seen that she was SUPPOSED to be a coyote hunter in Kansas before I RESCUED HER FROM IT. Before you make snide remarks, make sure you know what you are talking about. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” -Savvyprchick
By: nearlynormalized on Saturday, October 20, 2007
at 2:08 pm
Just wondering, you rescued her from the coyote hunter ranch…How do they know the dogs pass the test as coyote hunters? Fill me in. I wasn’t trying to be snide, just got back from a sanctuary with all the creatures, including coyotes exist and it just hit me the wrong way. I offer my aplogizes.
Thank you for your rescue effort
By: nearlynormalized on Saturday, October 20, 2007
at 8:01 pm
They teach them to be. Greyhounds are sighthounds and if they have prey drive (most have some sort) then they can be taught to chase stuff. Greyhounds also have an increased sense of pack mentality.
This coyote hunter never got his act together to be a coyote hunter and there was an “oops” litter and he contacted a local greyhound adoption group and said that either they could take the pups or he’d take care of them himself.
By: savvyprchick on Monday, October 22, 2007
at 9:48 am
Your greyhounds are gorgeous! I have one and she looks alot like Chase.
By: rachal on Wednesday, October 31, 2007
at 3:25 pm
All your animals are gorgeous!!! Chase reminds me a lot of Lucy, as she’ is a Red Fawn also.
By: wildlonewolf on Friday, November 2, 2007
at 4:17 pm
That was really fun!!
By: ronal89 on Monday, November 5, 2007
at 3:31 pm
Oh I love your fur family, wonderful picks. I did Greyhound rescue about 15 years ago, they are wonderful dogs. I do collie rescue now as I have fallen in love with collies. The drawback is, of course, falling in love with the fosters… we have five keeper dogs now shhh don’t tell anyone… 
By: Cynthia Blue on Wednesday, November 28, 2007
at 10:33 am
I love the pics of your Greyhounds. I am an animal lover too.
By: Gina on Friday, November 30, 2007
at 11:16 am
What beautiful Animals. Your comment about your abandoned kitten HATING strangers got me thinking about our own cat that was left by the side or the road at about the same age. He is really beautiful Gold and Black Tiger Tabby. He is huge, about 20 pounds and has an eating disorder (he is bulemic!)He also loves to be brushed and will go into the bathroom where we keep the brush and meow until you brush him. But he is super skittish and sensitive to any sudden noise or movement and when there are strange people in the house he literally comes unglued! I never thought about it being because he was abandoned but it does make sense. He is such a nice cat other wise.
Your dogs are beautiful!
By: Cyndie on Friday, November 30, 2007
at 8:10 pm
I have a picture of my greyhound Latch that looks just like that picture of Lulu with the peanut butter! He loves that peanut butter (as a matter of fact, he got into trouble for growling at me when he had the jar of peanut butter)!
By: Letitia on Monday, February 18, 2008
at 12:47 pm
The worst memory I have is when I was about 12 years old and my Dad made me take my Heinz 57 out to the woods on our farm and shoot it, after it had been hurt real bad. I am an animal lover too, but now I just don’t get so attached to them. I guess I learned early on to realize they are, JUST animals.
By: Chuck Gilliam on Saturday, April 26, 2008
at 1:57 pm
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at 8:39 am
