Take time to enjoy something of everyday, no matter how small or how big. It may be as simple as a small child smiling at you or your most desired dream come true. As we have seen during the past 4 years, we are not guarenteed the next minute, so enjoy each day to it's fullest. Remember that at this time we have been blessed by God to live in a country where we enjoy the freedoms that we have. Do not take these special priveledges for granted.
Hi, I'm Casey. My two boys, Shannon and Stephan would like to invite you to "stroll" through our little garden and meet our managerie. Since I started this page in 1998, several of our "critters" have come and gone. As a child, I had a deep interest in becoming a vet., but quickly found out that I was not cut out for it. I became a nurse instead. My boys "inherited" my love for animals, and so through the years we have had several interesting "pets" that have brightend our lives...some for a long time, others only for a short while.
August 1997, Shannon found Peanut when he was just a tiny little opossum, hence the name Peanut Possum. He weighed about 4 oz. when he was found lying by a creek. Some other animal had attempted to have him for a snack when Shannon saved him. He brought him home, we cleaned the wounds, gave him antibiotics, fed him and gave him water. He lived through the night, which surprised us all. With a lot of love, TLC, and just a wee bit of pampering
(like bacon, cheese and egg biscuits for breakfast once in a while), he grew into a lovable, sweet, pet of 23lbs. He lived for 3 years, and passed away in Sept. 2001 from heart failure. According to all research we have done, and information from our vets, apparently opposums usuly live about 2 - 3 years, and die from congenital heart problems6
When you first met Shannon - age 10 and Stephan - age 6, They had a "family" of their own, which they were and still are very proud of.
At the top of the page is Shannon and his "possum twins" Sonica and Snuggles - July of 1999, these little girls were abandoned by the mother and found by a friend of ours. We brought them home, fed them with tiny medicine droppers until they could eat solid food. They were released back into the wild when they were about 4 - 6 months old. Both were released at protected game reserves where they could continue life as God meant for them to.
June of 1999 we found Jake our Collie/Terrier mix. He is now 6 yrs. old. He was adopted one night while Shannon was playing baseball. Shannon named him after one of his best friends at school. Both Jakes are loveable, loving, a bit hyper, love to run and play.
We adopted Hershey in 2000, now she is 5 years old. She is a Chocolate Lab/Chow/Great Dane mix. She is a big, loveable bear of a "pup". She Loves to play ball, go exploring in the woods, and going for a swim with Jake.
Maggie, a Blue and Gold Macaw we adopted when she was 3 months old in 1994, She is now 11 years old. She loves to play, ride on Shannon's shoulder, play in our Dogwood tree outside when she goes out. She has basically adopted Shannon as her guardian.
Abby, an old Grey American Long hair kitty who was a bit tempermental at times - Loved to be petted...on her terms! She was good at keeping rodents away from the house and was pretty much my baby. In spring 2002, we found that she has cancer. We kept her comfortable and as happy as possible for as long as we could until she passed away in January of 2003. but she had a very long and happy life. She was 15 years old.)
Tiger/Tigger an 18 month old black and white stripped shorthair that Shannon found stranded in a locked car, in 90 degree weather In August of 1999. We managed to get him out of the car, he was a happy and loving little guy, who stayed under our feet constantly. He has used about 3 of his 9 lives pretty quickly. When he was about 7 months old, he was playing with Hershey and Jake, ran into the corner of the garage which resulted in a concussion, fractured rt. eye orbit, and several sticthes. When he was almost a year old, someone in the neighborhood shot him with a 22. When he was found by our neighbor, we was unable to walk on either of his front legs. The vet was not sure that we could save him, however, Shannon was determined that he would walk again. After extensive surgeries, including pins, screws, and plates, he completely recovered. He walked a bit funny, but that is alright. He "talked" all the time, and sat up on his butt like a little prairie dog.
I am sad to say that a day or two after I posted the pic of Tigger and Silky, Tig disappeared without a trace. Needless to say, the boys were really heartbroken. I have checked several animal shelters, but no traces of our baby.
We never knew what happened to him.
Silky is a black and white "tuxedo longhair" with a white
shirt. He is a very sweet loving little guy who loves to be petted.Shannon adopeted him in May of 2000 from his friend Jake. He is pretty much community properity. If you pet him, he is your friend. He, Tigger, Hershey and Jake were best friends, and loved to play together. Silky and Tigger were like two children romping through the house jumping on the chairs, and unsuspecting people.
We adoped "Sunny" March of 2001) a longhaired marmalade colored kitty, with beautiful orange eyes. He was left behind by his previous owners when he was just a baby. He was left outside during the winter months, to fend for himself. Thanks to a thougtful neighbor, he was rescued and brought to the Animal Foundation of East Tenn. where Brenda Burke cared for him and later allowed me to adopt him. He was my special kitty. Unfortunately in June 2002, ran in front of a car. Usually, Sunny did not like to go outside, but on that particular Sunday morning he did.br>
There are also the two pet bunnies, Rascal and Freckles. When the boys came home from having tonsilectomies (on the same day, and on Stephan's sixth birthday- August 30, 2000), their dad had surprised them with these two sweet little bunnies.
We found a little black bird in May of 2000. It fell from its nest and has a broken leg. We fed him/her and took very good care it and named it Tango. We turned him loose in August. We taught him to find food on his own so he can take care of himself when he was turned loose. He played tag, tug of war, keep away with objects that he likes to steal and keep in his cage, and his favorite games is catch me if you can and "feed me now". He enjoyed tap dancing on my computer.
During that same spring, we found several other baby birds, which we took care of until they could be turned loose.
Since Tango, we have found a little female robin about the middle of May. The boys took care of her. She was just hatched when she fell from her nest. Shannon fed her and cared for her for about a month, teaching her to catch bugs and worms. We turned her loose July 10. She found a friend immediately and flew off. She still stays around the house with her new friend. She has since had several clutches of babies of her own and we see them some time. Several of the "grandchildren also build nests close to the house.
On July 7, one of Shannon's friends found a baby Mockingbird which was injured. We have named him "Nugget" since one of the boys noticed that he is not much bigger than a chicken nugget. He had problems with swallowing so we had to mash the food up with water, but he grew strong and healthy. Every time he heard one of us coming into the room he ran from his box to us. Tango was a bit jealous but otherwise tolerated the new babies when they came in, and was very happy when they left! (Update on Nuggett- someone left a door open one morning, and she flew outside. She stayed around the house and "talked" to use from time to time. She enjoyed playing in an apple tree in the back yard or sit on the fence and chirp at us when we were outside.
We also found a nest of wrens abandonded by the mother bird for what ever reason August 16th, 2001. The nest was built on a tomatoe plant, very close to the ground. The eggs had just hatched, the babies had their eyes closed, and no feathers at all. Very small, about the size of a quarter. We brought them home, fed them, kept them warm, put them in a nest, and tried to raise them. One died the same week, it did not ever really grow like the other two. One died after about two weeks, we are not sure why. And raised "Sweetie" who grew into a really neat little wren. We tried to turn her loose a couple of times, but it seemed she really liked her cage, and refused to leave. Finally after several attempts, she finally flew the coop and went to live at the local Sonic, where handouts are plentiful.
As of 2001, We have Kiwi- a cute little Lorikeet. She is a lot of fun, a silly, funny, clowinsh little bird. She talks and loves to play. We love to watch her hop across the floor, like a kangaroo.
Shannon's pet Guinea Pig, Bridget,was adopted in 1997 and had hidden cargo at the time. She produced "three little pigs" on July 4th, 1997. She became the class mascot for the 2nd grade at his school.
Sad to say that shortly after the beginning of the 2002 school year, Bridget passed away. Ironically, she stayed in the second grade long enough for Stephan to be in the class...she came to second grade while Shannon was there, and left 5 yrs. later when Stephan joined the class.
July 17, 2001, Sliky brought home another "baby" at 1:30 am. This time, a real baby kitten about 5 weeks. old. It was a lt. grey, dark grey/black"lepord" type kitty. Shannon wanted to call it Jag---short for Jaguar. Apparently it was born in the wild, maybe down by the creek. The kitten did not like people at all, and it us took about 2 1/2 hours to catch it - at 4 am. After a couple of days, the kitten really turned into a sweet loveable baby who loved to be petted and carried around the house by the boys and their friends, and became very spoiled - very quickly.
We found out that Jag was not a he....but a SHE! So we re-named her Gracie. She was a very sweet kitten. Loves to play with her mousies, and pester the boys any time she could. She loved to play at night, pouncing on them wanting them to play, then she slept all day!
Gracie gree into a lovely, smart, and agile little feline. She kept the other cats in line. Unfortunately, she had surgery, and some medical problems, but thankfully she finally got past that. As of July 2002, Gracie had a family of her own .. so to speak. She adopted two little girls who look very much like her. She lost her litter about the same time that these little girls were born. They are named after our cousins...Kacie and Kendra. The kittens are identical twins!
in late May 2004, Gracie went for her daily walk in the neighborhood, and unfortunately, she did not come home. We searched everywhere, but we have never seen her since.
We adopted a baby squirrel that apparently fell out of a tree (09/21/02)He was about 9 weeks old, and grew like a weed. We named him C.J.( not sure what that stands for, but he has learned his name). He was bottle fed, while growing his teeth, he liked to bite a bit..but only in a playful manner. A couple of weeks later we found Cryatal, a cute little girl squirrel. Both were raised in the house, in their own little squirrel homes. They were returned to the wild in late March 2003. They live in the 13 acres of woods behind our house. They come out every morning and afternoon for their daily petting and feeding.
Shannon and Stephan are also fond of reptiles. Shannon now has a nice little Bearded Dragon - Puff Dragon- which was about 1 1/2 inches long when we bought him in December 2002 and an African Fat Tailed Geko (which we donated to the kindergarten class at school in 2005.)
We found an Albino Corn Snake in June 2003. It is a beautiful snake, if you are attracted to snakes! Apparently it was someone's pet, and ran (slithered)
away from home. We found it outside and brought it in. It has some places where it had been bitten and was very hungry. We cleaned the wounds, taken it for care several times, and fed it well. It was apparently about a year old, and soon became very healthy. We found a wonderful home for the snake - Thankfully - with a good friend of Shannon's
We adopted Alfred - a pure white, but not albino ferret, in 2002.
. He was a sweet little guy, who got into a lot of trouble. He has been lost in the floor, celing, and in between the walls of the house. He also had to have surgery to remove pieces of a small rubber lego tire from his stomach, but he recovered well. We had to keep an eye on him at all times, but he was fun to play with. He chased the cats, except for Silky. Silky found him disturbing and an annoyance, but Gracie, Kendra, and Kacie love to chase him, run from him, and play with him. Unfortunately, Alfred did not like the reptiles, which is apparently normal for animals species.
On August 12, 2003 Alfred escaped from his cage, and went outside for a walk...It was as though he just dissapeared into thin air. We searched the house top to bottom, everywhere outside, and the neighborhood. Unfortunately, Ferretts have a tendency to hide very well. Also as unfortunate, they do not stand much of a chance outside on their own. We keep hoping and waiting for Gracie and Alfred to come home.
In January 2004, Stephan adopted two little boy ferrets from a local girl who could not keep them any more. So, now we have Baby, who is a smaller than average ferret, and his brother Rocky, who is much larger than the average ferret. They love to run through the house, play, aggrivate the cats and dog. They are very nosey, and have to be kept out of the trash cans and cabinets when they area out. But, they are a lot of fun to play "catch and tug of war" with.
During a fishing trip at a local lake in July 2003, we found a very mal-nourished black cat, about 1 year old. He was very thin, dehydrated and dying. We took him home, he now is a beautiful boy...Simon. He is one of the most lovable cats that I have ever had. He loves to be petted and loves to let us know how much he loves us. He and Silky are great friends, although, Silky makes sure that "Sir Simon de Catterville" knows his place in the pyrimid of who's who.
On July 10, 2004, I found another critter...a little girl whom we now call Ginger. She is part Golden Retriver and part ..gulp...Great Pyrinese. She is a very sweet and loveable pup - that now weighs about 85 pounds. She is a wonderful watchdog, but very loveable and smart. She is protective of her humans, and loves to play ball. If she is bored, she will find a stick and begin playing catch and fetch by herself.
June 21, 2005, I found another dying cat. This one, a lavender burmese - spayed, declawed, obviously had been someone's house kitty. She was so weak and malnourished, she could not stand up. It was 99 degrees outside, so I gave her water and some food. She ate and drank in very small amounts, but after a couple of hours, was finally able to stand up and eat for a few minutes at at time. We have had her now for about 2 months, and she still has a long way to go, but is gaining some weight each week. (UPdate on Annabella - as of March 2006, she has gained weight, is sleek, beautiful and finally beginning to trust us. She would like to be the only cat, but the boys keep her in her place.
How times change. Silky has found another home - with a wonderful lady down the street from us. He decided that he liked her food much better than the food here LOL. He is a big, fat cat...and very happy. Cathy is taking very good care of him. I walk up the street to see him every now and then, but he lets me know he is happy where he is. Simon is a very sleek, fat boy, very sweet and loving. He is a "mamma's boy" Annie, the Lavender burmese has turned into a beautiful cat and finally after 2 years, is becoming a very loveable cat. She loves to sleep on one side of the bed, and Simon on the other.
Ginger now weighs 120 pounds and is a beautiful "big girl". She is very protective of her family, but is a good girl.
Shannon has now discovered another type of animal...the female creature. He has just turned "Sweet 16" and turns his attention to playing trumpet in the school bands. He is very dedicated to Concert, Symphonic, Woodwind, Jazz bands, Church Orchestra Band and during football season, Marching band. During his junior year, 2007, he now plays Rugby and enjoys motorcycle riding. He has his own My Space....so ladies, check him out!
Shannon is now 18, tall, handsome, muscular, but sorry, ladies, but he is very attatched to a beautiful, tall, brunett who is wonderful young lady. I will have to post a pic of them at senior prom - but for the younger ladies- SHannon's "baby brother" is not a baby anymore! Tall, blond, big brown eyes, and muscular like his brother. Stephan is now almost 14, and not attatched.
He is pretty much community properity. If you pet him, he is your friend. He, Tigger, Hershey and Jake were best friends, and loved to play together. Silky and Tigger were like two children romping through the house jumping on the chairs, and unsuspecting people.
Unfortunately in June 2002, ran in front of a car. Usually, Sunny did not like to go outside, but on that particular Sunday morning he did.br>
. He was a sweet little guy, who got into a lot of trouble. He has been lost in the floor, celing, and in between the walls of the house. He also had to have surgery to remove pieces of a small rubber lego tire from his stomach, but he recovered well. We had to keep an eye on him at all times, but he was fun to play with. He chased the cats, except for Silky. Silky found him disturbing and an annoyance, but Gracie, Kendra, and Kacie love to chase him, run from him, and play with him. Unfortunately, Alfred did not like the reptiles, which is apparently normal for animals species.
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