Walker Family Animals

Many of you know that my family is big on pets.  We love them.  We've always had them. They are an integral part of our household.

As much as I tease about my mom being maybe a little overly attached to the pets, we all love them desperately.

I though I'd do a quick post about our family pets!

Domino.

AKA "Doe," "Dosido," "Doe-Kitty" "Do-d-doh"

Family Member Since: December 2001 (2 months old, adopted from PetSmart)

Age: 9 years old (53 in cat years)

Sex: Male

Handsome boy!

Domino is the average Alpha Cat.  While he was always been a prissy, pretty-boy, needy little thing, he acquired the alpha role in the fall of 2009.  He has excelled very well in this new role! He was a long & skinny boy (somewhat stretchy) cat until Abby died (who had been alpha)...since then he's become very fat & proud.  We got Domino while out Christmas shopping in 2001...just after losing 2 cats in the summer.  We were most attracted to his lovey-doviness & his black&white coat. He is most particular about when & how he is fed, when he does & does not want attention...and God forbid you touch his tail when he doesn't want it fluffed.  He sheds a lot, but his dander is not all that bad so my allergies can usually handle him loving on me for a few minutes. He is defiant and looooves to be outside in the backyard.

The flash is too bright!

Pretty Boy!

Shortly after acquiring the "Alpha" role...fatty.

You may remember this from this post.

Marley.

AKA "Marley-Boy," "Marles,"

Family Member Since: July 2004 (3-5 months old)

Age: 7 years old (41 in dog years)

Sex: Male

We like him.

We found Marley the summer before my senior year of high school when he pranced onto our yard & never left.  While we put up signs to get the word out that we had found a dog in the neighborhood, nobody claimed him & he quickly became a very important family member. He is a Portuguese Water Dog, which is what the Obamas have. Marley is a panty-eater. He eats his own poo on occasion. He loves to eat gum.  Despite the fact that many of our belongings are not safe from his jowls & he has a few undesirable traits, he is the most loyal dog ever.  He is so special to my mom because he wasn't yet 2 when both Ryan and I were both gone away to college, so they are very close! Marley is also really smart.  He knows how to dance on his hind legs, play Hide-&-Seek, & is a pro at every standard command.  He's also been my running buddy since being home!

Sweet face!

Sitting like a good boy!

"Why do I have to stay out of the kitchen all the time?"

Cutie Pie

Tucker.

AKA "Tuck," "Tuckeroo," "Tuck the *uck," "Tucker the *ucker"

Date acquired: September 2009 (2 1/2 months old)

Age: 1 year 8 months old

Sex: Male

Cuteness.

Tucker was officially my graduation present from my parents. He couldn't have come at a better time.  The first weekend of September 2009, I was living alone, had 2 family deaths in a short time frame, was struggling financially at a job I really disliked from the beginning & our family cat died (Abby).  Oh yeah...& the break-up. I was a MESS. My work was also going to be closed for a week for renovations & I didn't want to be alone. So, I decided that Saturday to get the puppy I wanted.  I wanted a boy yorkie more than ANYTHING. I found him in the paper, went to pick him up, & the rest was history.

Tucker & I have an interesting relationship now (over a year-and-a-half later). He still pees on carpet.  He still needs more attention than I can give him.  He still yelps in his crate (but is getting better). He still gets sickeningly horrible anxiety if he is left alone.  That was why this last fall, I brought home to my parents house to be with other animals & my mom who is home full-time.  I simply cannot take care of this dog who at almost two years old still needs 24 hours of attention each and every day. Being back home has been great for me, but I can see that Tucker loves my mom & Marley.  He loves my dad, my brother & Domino.  He loves the yard. For now, even when I move out, he will probably stay here.

Now, please don't get me wrong.  I LOVE THIS DOG TO PIECES. But, realistically, if my parents didn't let him and want him to be in their house, I would probably have to get rid of him. He has been a rough puppy. Hopefully he grows out of it soon.  Until then, my choice is to have him here where someone can and wants to take care of him when I'm not available. So maybe he's not just my dog now, but my family's.

Tucker is a happy dog though! He loves his carrot. He loves toys. He loves treats. He looooves Dum-Dums. He has a very special friendship with Miss Trynnity. He loves to pretend like he's a big dog by growling at Marley.  He licks violently in the face, which drives me crazy.  He snuggles sooooo good. He loves the hair dryer, but hates the shower. He has drippy tear eyes. He enjoys going on walks. He likes to bark. And yes...he likes to pee on carpet.

The day I got him! He was so tiny!

The first carrot on the second day I had him.  There have easily been half a dozen carrots now.

Trynnity loves "Tolcker"

She just can't hold him enough!

Dum Dums.  They are my favorite candy, but he gets into them every time.

Patient with Prestton

After bathtime, before grooming.

Tucker not acting crazy.

We've also had a bunch of other very special pets. Here's the short & simple list

Abby: (October 1995-August 2009) "Jaba" was our family's Alpha Cat for a loooong time.  She was a brown Abyssinian Tabby. She was a fatty & had horrible dander, but she was such a good family cat & a very sweet friend.  She had a rough last couple of years, but many memories were had with her!

Sasha: (October 1995-June 2001) Sasha was my sweet sweet girl & I loved her most of any cat we've had.  She was all black and oh-so-soft! We got her at the same time as Abby, & those two cats loved each other so much! I miss her still & I was heartbroken when she ran away. We think she had a heart attack from the fear because she never went more than two steps out the door.

Teddy: (November 1999-June 2001) Teddy was a Persian Tabby & was b-e-a-utiful, but he was one of the most independent cats we've ever had.  Sasha mothered him & protected him.  When he ran away, we weren't too surprised that Sasha left a day or two after. It was a sad month for our family :(.

Chelsea & Chester: (Fall 1992-Spring 1993) We adopted Chelsea & Chester from Operation Kindness.  They were such sweet kittens, but only a few months after we got them we found out they had Feline Leukemia.  Since we couldn't keep them both, we gave them to separate homes who knew about the disease. I was only in kindergarten, so I really didn't understand why we had to give our kittens away. 

Roxy: (Spring 1990-Fall 1994) Roxy was a gorgeous Dalmation who had no obedience. She snapped at me too many times and my parents spent a fortune on training her with no progress. After 3 years, they chose to cut their losses and stick with cats while they had young kids.  We gave her to an unmarried lady with another Dalmatian & no kids.

Mocha: (???) A very bad, mean cat who peed everywhere.

Cleo: (???-1990) My mom's very special cat who was very much loved by everyone.  Including me, the three-year-old who loved to squeeze and cuddle with her.  She ran away...I wonder why?