My first set of babies

I'm so grateful for my pets. I call them my babies still, even after having kids, and while they aren't near as spoiled as they once were, I love them so much.

This is Ally. I call her Ally Bally or Baby Girl. When I got her she was between 4 and 6 months old and that was in 1998. She's going to be 14 years old soon, and I'm thankful for that because when she was rescued she tested positive for everything except rabies and parvo. She has weekly trips to the vet for her heart worms, stomach worms, and mange and had so many drugs in her system for so long that they told me that she likely wouldn't live to see 10 years. She has been there for me through a divorce, a few breakups, a marriage, three moves, and a few job changes. She is amazingly intelligent and incredibly loyal and sweet and docile as can be.

This is Jasmine. In a way, she is the last gift I received from my ex-husband. She and her siblings were dumped in a box on his parents doorstep and his father was just going to let them starve to death. She was 3-4 weeks old when I got her in August of 2000. She is all cat. She is smart and athletic, and as you can probably see from the picture, dripping with attitude. Some how although she was so young when I got her, she already was a touch feral. She believes that Ally is her mom but tolerates me and Q pretty much as the only humans that she lets get near her nowadays.

This chubby thing is Misty. She is crazy but so incredibly loveable. She is the softest cat that I've ever felt. Q rescued her from an abusive home in 2001 and very shortly after that, she came to live with me. We renamed her Diva, but it didn't stick and Misty she still is. She has a special relationship with the bear cub and pretty much lets the bear cub do whatever she wants to her, but stays clear of Darth Baby and the nerdlet. This wonderful cat is stuck in kitten mode and will play until she drops. She also gives great lumbar massages (though so far only to me).

This is Suki. I tried so hard after getting this dog from animal control to rehome her, but I'm really glad that I was never successful. I got her in 2003 when she was about 3 months old and it was clear pretty early on that she was meant to be a working dog, either a drug or hunting dog. She has an amazing sense of smell and you can see her track the paths of other animals when she comes into a room. She also likes to hold smaller animals in her mouth, though she has never hurt them. She can jump the 6 foot privacy fence without a running jump, and she likes to sit on the fence like a bird and terrify people walking or jogging by. She is fiercely protective of my girls and will let them crawl all over her. A lot of these traits have caused me some grief, but she is definitely worth it and I'm glad no one ever took her off my hands.

I love these girls so much and my heart breaks just thinking about how much I'm going to miss them when they are gone.