His name is George, aka Georgie Porgie, Georgie Poo. He is a 3 year old orange stray cat. I got him when he was 6 months old. He was my present to myself for my birthday. Eric's birthday present to me was that he let me keep him! He is the sweetest cat alive, no matter what Eric says. He has more dog attributes really than cat ones. He chases and plays with the dogs and even plays with horses.
Next we'll introduce the dogs. The oldest one is Charlotte, a bearded collie. She is 13 years old! I've had her since highschool and she has gone everywhere with me. She is not doing too good these days; she's having a lot of trouble with her arthritis and I think she is on the senile side as well. But we still love her anyway. I don't have recent pictures of her since she looks so old, but here's one from a few years ago when she was looking good.
Then there is Eric's pride and joy. You all know him - Rocky. Rocky is Eric's "first" dog. He is a 7 year old mix breed dog. We found him at the animal shelter in Athens, GA. He was very shy at first and didn't want anything to do with Eric at first. That has all chanaged! Now Eric is his most favorite person of all. He can be quite a goofball sometimes, but he is also one of the most serious dogs you'll ever find. I'm sure when Lilly comes he's going to be the one worrying the most!
Next up is Peanut. Peanut is a little 6 year old mixed breed. She came from the mountains of Tennessee. I got her there when I was volunteering on a spay/neuter clinic. These clinics offer spays, neuter, and other preventative medicine free of charge to those at the poverty level. In exchange vet students get the opportunity to practice surgery and other procedures. Well, you know me, I couldn't resist when I saw Peanut. She was only 6 or 8 weeks old at the time. Surprise Eric! She has gone from being a stray mountain dog to quite a princess - she requires all her pillows be fluffed and her meals gourmet. Don't even think of asking her to go out in the rain!
Last of our dogs is Suey. Suey is a 1 1/2 year old Plott Hound. She was another sympathy acquisition. I got her about a year ago from a farm that I was working at in Florence, SC. She had been around for a few months there, but apparantly the neighbor called the dog catcher to come get her because she was stealing items off of her porch! My client called and told me that animal control was circling the block, so I felt bad and told her to catch her up and I would pick her up later. Suey has turned out to be quite the energetic girl, but it's okay since she has plenty of space to run and play here. She is a great hunter, she can track small game and deer very well. She even got a mole just the other day (although the trail is now a mess between her and the mole digging up everything!). Very sweet and kid friendly. Her best friend is Katie Jones and I'm sure she'll be so excited once Lilly arrives.
Now we have all the dogs covered. We can move on to the horses. We'll start with Laverne since I've had her the longest. She is an 8 year miniature horse. I got her when she was just 8 months old. She is quite the character and things are always done her way or the highway. She has NO clue how little she really is. She knows how to drive a cart, although I haven't driven her in a few years! She can lead line kids around and I've jumped on her back a couple times! And yes Dylan next time you come you can ride her (he asked me if he could come and ride the horses last time I saw him).
Next up is Belmont. Belmont is a 4 year old warmblood (Trakehner to be exact). He is my fancy show horse. I bought him when he was only 3 months old in hopes he would become my dressage superstar. So far so good. He is a grumpy creature, but he makes up for it in ease of training and good looks! These pictures are of him last December at his first recognized show; he did not show but just went for the experience of it all.
Last but not least is good ole Pete. I got Pete 2 years ago just for a fun project to ride while Belmont was still growing up. He is a 10 year old Thoroughbred. He turned out to be a nicer ride than I had imagined. I showed him a bunch on the schooling show circuit and he's blown them all away! He is the sweetest horse as well! Right now, unfortunately, I really have no time for him now that Belmont is up and coming. So he was out of work for a while. Luckily, one of my clients was in need a school horse to teach lessons off of so she decided to give Pete a go. Well Pete has been living in Blythewood for about 3 months now and is doing so well! He loves the extra attention from his "students" and has been doing wonderfully with them. I visit him when I'm in the area and make sure to take him carrots. He is just being borrowed at the moment in exchange for paying his "bills" (feed, hay, shoes etc). He will stay there as long as he's needed for now.
I will add one more horse to the post. That is because he is the most important horse I've ever had in my life. His name was Puff, aka Puff the Majic Dragon, a small bay trakehner. I owned him for 11 years. He was my junior and young rider show horse. He taught me tons about riding and even more about life. I had to put him down 3 years ago after a very bad colic. We tried to save him with surgery but it was not meant to be. He was 21 years old at the time, so he had a good long life here. So here is my memorium to good old Puffers, the best horse there ever was!
So now you know all of our family. In just a few short weeks, it will be made bigger with the addition of Lilly! We are so excited and will keep everyone updated on the happenings.
1 comment:
YAY!!!! You have quite the family there of fur creatures! Dylan will be excited that he can ride Laverne. And that picture of Rocky with the glasses on cracked me up! Thanks for posting, Mari!!!
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