Our Pets

Home Critters

My wife Cherise and I have had pets continuously from within the first few months of our marriage. Here is a rogue's gallery of our current brood:

Species: Some sort of cat, we think.
Where he came from: Rescued from the back yard as a 14-ounce kitten in 1997.
Description: A lot bigger than 14 ounces, I can tell you that. Black shorthair with a little white spot on his chest.
Origin of Name: We had a black cat named Smudge when I was growing up.
Nicknames: Smudgie, Pudgie, Pudge-Pot, Le Blob, Fifteen-Pounds-of-Cat-in-a-Five-Pound-Bag.

Species: Cat.
Where she came from: Along with Smudge, rescued from the back yard as a 15-ounce kitten in 1997.
Description: More svelt than her brother Smudge. Beautiful long-haired grey tabby.
Origin of Name: She had an attitude problem as a kitten.
Nicknames: Sassafrass, Sassima, Sassy-Soft, Sassy-Girl, Saskatchewan.

Species: Cat.
Where she came from: Showed up in our back yard with two kittens (Scamp and Little Bit) in tow. We had her spayed, then later brought her into the house to protect her from wierdos in the neighborhood. (Her kittens, by this time grown, unfortunately came to a bad end.)
Description: Looks a lot like Smudge, but with a smaller head.
Origin of Name: She was a mama cat.
Nicknames: None!

Species: Cat.
Where she came from: Showed up in our back yard howling for food with a meow that was strangely reminiscent of the siren from the Ghostbusters movies.
Description: Looks a lot like Mama cat, but with fewer sequins on her collar.
Origin of Name: We wanted to name her Miss Kitty, but out of respect for a neighbor who had lost a beloved cat of that name, we mangled the name just a bit.
Nicknames: BratCat, Lil' Nacho.

Species: Border Collie.
Where she came from: Adopted in 2004 from Mixed Breed Rescue, who got her from the Town Lake animal shelter (a notorious euthanasia mill), which in turn had picked her up as a stray.
Description: Whiter than most Border Collies with a little black dot on her forehead.
Origin of Name: That's what Mixed Breed rescue called her, and it stuck.
Nicknames: Mal, Mallie, Goober, Malamar, Malamute, Mala-dog, Mal-Mal, Air Goober, Malicopter, Mal-Mal-Mal, Mala-Mambo, Mallory O'Ballory, Malodorous Mallory, Mal-Mal-Mal-Mal, Dot, Malla-Dot, Dot-head, Attention Deficit Dog, Clown-on-Crank, Maloprop, Grr, Grr-Grr, P.O.D. (Pavlov's OTHER Dog), Malibu, Ueber Goober, "The Tongue".