Menagerie

Living on a farm, we often find ourselves with an animal "dumped" on us. We are suckers and can't say no to a sweet little face. Here is the run down of our animals.

This is Tiger. He was dumped on us along with his brother (see below) and sister (God rest her soul.) Farm Guy found all three of them at the bottom of the grain pit all pitiful and stuck.

Tiger has 3 legs. He got caught in a trap (not ours) that was set along a nearby creek. He was missing for a few days and came back with one leg dangling. I took him to the vet, resulting in the amputation. Would you believe he is the fastest cat we have? He uses that back leg like a pogo stick!

This is Presley, Tiger's brother. When Farm Guy first brought him home, I saw his puffy face and fluffy fur and assumed he was a girl. Presley was known as Priscilla for the first few weeks of his life. I think this led to his anti-social personality.

This is Smokey, aka Fat Bastard. One day I opened the back door and this flash of gray fur flew past me into the house. He was fat and friendly and acted like he had lived here his entire life. We welcomed him into our home as an indoor cat. Fast forward to his first transaction in the litter box. You have never, EVER smelled anything as horrible and rancid as this cat's poop. Oh my Lord. It makes my eyes water just thinking about it. I thought surely after a few days of regular cat food, his system would be flushed out. Nope. This cat just has the nastiest ass ever. So, Smokey has found a loving home OUTSIDE.

This is Baby Kitty. Actually, Baby Kitty #2. My mom has had 2 baby kitties. This is her second one. She got Baby Kitty shortly after losing the first one much to my dad's chagrin. (He is so NOT a cat person.) Instead of getting a divorce, she decided to give Baby Kitty to us. Baby Kitty is one of the sweetest cats we have. He is quiet, easy-going, and loving. And fat.

This is Buttons, aka Minxie. (That's right. Our cats have nicknames.) Buttons and her brother (see below) were rescued by my sister on the night of my wedding rehearsal from the middle of a highway. She kept them at my parent's house during our honeymoon and then they came to live with us. Buttons got tired of fighting with all the male cats around here (she is spayed, as all of our animals are spayed and neutered.) So Buttons went to live at our red barn about 1/10 of a mile down the road. She lives with the cows and catches mice. Farm Guy and his cousin keep a bag of food down there and feed her each day. She is a petite little fat thing, happy as a clam to live all by herself in the barn.

This is Baxter. He is black. That about sums him up.

This is Noodles. She is my evil stepdaughter. Farm Guy has had her much longer than he has known me. She showed up at the place he was working and he brought her home. She is old. She is the only indoor cat, much to my dismay. She is weird and is always staring at me. She spends most of her life in the doorway, waiting for me to walk by so she can scratch my ankles.

This is Daisy. She was left at our red barn, tied up with a small pan of water on the 4th of July, three years ago. We scooped her up and took her home with us. She is a very sweet, always guilty looking dog. She worships Farm Guy and loves to lick. Edited to add: Daisy passed away this past summer. We loved her very much and know she is taking Gator rides in Doggie Heaven.

This is Jackie the Cow, the bane of my existence. We had a pregnant dog show up at our house last summer (the mom looked exactly like Jackie.) We fed her and allowed her to stay at our house to have her puppies. She had 6 puppies. We found good homes for all of them. Tractor Boy fell in love with Jackie and so we foolishly kept her. Well, now she spends 99% of her day finding things around the yard, garage, garbage, and other people's garbage to drag to our yard and chew. She chews EVERYTHING. Ugh. But, she is very sweet and Cole loves her so we do too.

This is Bear, otherwise known as Best Dog on the Planet. Bear's mom was hit along the road next to my school the first year Farm Guy and I were married. Bear and his brother were wandering the school yard. I got someone to take the brother, but Bear was mine. He was a little ball of fluff with the sweetest eyes ever. His breath smelled like the ass of a skunk, but that's another matter. On the way home that day, I stopped by Farm Guy's tractor shop, bringing Bear in with me. He rolled his eyes and said, "I don't want no GD dog." But I took him home anyway. About 10 minutes into their relationship, Bear became Farm Guy's best friend. Those 2 are inseparable. They farm together. They sit in the recliner together. Bear is the first person Farm Guy greets when he gets home from work. He truly is "Man's Best Friend."

This is Jose, the newest member of our family. Jose showed up shortly after Daisy passed away. Clearly God has a sense of humor and decided we didn't have near enough mouths to feed. Jose came to our farm at about the same that Jackie the Cow went into heat for the first time. We rushed her to the vet to take care of that business. But Jose? He never left. He has been our first full-time indoor dog. We have never had a small dog, but are enjoying him being here with us. He is feisty and fun and always shivering.

We certainly have enough 4-legged creatures around here...but I am sure there will be more. And we will take them in with open arms.