I was going to do a weekend recap but that'll probably wait until tomorrow since I still have to edit pictures. So instead, I'm going to tell you all about mine and Rony's fur babies. It's gonna be long.
We have five animals. Yeah, you read that right. Five. Three cats and two dogs. Plus we dog sit so you can imagine the craziness at our house. But I love it. They drive me nuts and tear up my shoes and clothes and meow and bite at my ankles when I don't feed them fast enough, but they also wait for me at the door, will cover me with snuggles, and give me kisses whenever I want.
I'm a huge animal lover and have always lived with animals. When I moved out at 19-20ish, I couldn't bring my family dog and baby, Max, with me. It was very hard and I knew I wasn't going to be able to survive without an animal. So when I moved out, I got my first cat Artemis from my aunt. She was crazy and wild and if I'm honest, a little feral.
And theeeeeeen she needed a friend while I was gone all day. So I searched all over town and officially adopted from a shelter for the first time. I found Ryder.
Ryder
Ryder is our oldest animal. He's also our most tolerant, patient, and chill animal. When we aren't sure how dogs react to cats, we bring him out and have him on the table. He lets them sniff and shove their noses into his fur and the most he'll do if annoyed is gently boop them.
I found him a week before Valentine's Day. Artemis was a white and brown cat and I was dead set on having a black one, one because I'm a goth baby and two, I thought they'd compliment each other.
Me and a friend had gone to three different places and could not find a black cat. I was annoyed. There had been a ton just a week before and now they were all gone, which was good for them but I wanted a black cat. We went to one last place. He was in the window in Petsmart where the shelter puts the cats up for adoption and one of only two cats left. They had just dropped him off. He was kinda big for an 8 week old but the other cat was like 8 years old and orange.
Another couple was also there looking at cats and I did an internal dance when they went straight to the orange cat. Ryder was originally named Haku from Spirited Away (it was meant to be) and had a slight sneeze. He didn't mind us picking him up and purred when I petted him. I picked him up and didn't want to let go.
Turns out he had asthma and allergy problems, probably from being at the shelter. I left college early one day because he was wheezing so badly I thought he was going to die. The vet game him some medicine and I had to spray children's nasal spray up his nose for a couple of weeks. I named him Ezio at first (Assassin's Creed nerd) and then thought Ryder suited him better.
Artemis and him got along and then he got along with Marisa's cat Loki when she got him. Nothing phased him then and even more now.
Ryder is a Bombay so he looks like a black panther. His breed also has weight issues so he's our fat cat. He sleeps a lot and mostly doesn't cause trouble, but will occasionally appear to try and steal your Doritos and chicken wings. They're his favorite. I think he got a little stressed when we went to Seattle because ever since them, he follows us around and will meow demand belly rubs.
He's gone through a lot of friends. Artemis had to be given away because she started getting aggressive and stressed out all the time. It's the only time I've had to give up an animal ever. When Marisa and I lived together we fostered a six toed cat named Digit or D for short. We then got Darcy, another black cat, but when I moved out she stayed with Marisa since Loki was attached.
Luckily, he hasn't been alone since.
Pumpkaboo
Pumpkaboo is Rony's cat. He is technically allergic but that didn't stop him.
Our friend Adam apparently found her on November 1st in a bush, I believe, and sent him a picture. She was a tiny kitten with an attitude and he immediately wanted her. She was a little Halloween cat and so he named her Pumpkaboo after the Pokemon.
Pumpkaboo was only about a year or so when I met her so she's our second oldest. She did not like anyone else but Rony. When I would walk around his house, she would hide around corners and swipe at my legs when I would go by. I would have to pick my feet off the floor and lay on the bed or she would attack.
Rony moved in with Adam and his cat and three dogs. Pumpkaboo would go out and explore, but we started to realize Adam's cat and her were not getting along. Omen would fight her a lot and it got to the point Pumpkaboo would literally poop out of fear.
So she came and lived with me. At first she would come back and forth, but eventually she just stayed. She got along with Loki and Ryder and finally warmed up to me. It was safer after too many close calls with cars and she wasn't as stressed. She's lived with me ever since.
Pumpkaboo is an odd cat. She finally learned to like people and is now super affectionate, but we like to call her our Diva cat. She is the boss. She will pick on the dogs, put herself in their way and block doors, smack and bite us until we feed her, and constantly tries to sneak out. She does what she wants. But she's also the first to go up to people for pets and treats, will stand up and grab your hand, and lays on you any time you sit or nap. She's a good cuddler.
Rony is her favorite. She talks to him all the time. When he walks around, she sometimes sits on his shoulders. She steals rubber bands and strings and will play fetch, dropping them near by and meowing at you constantly until you throw them. All food and drink cups are her's and she will not hesitate to just start drinking straight out of them.
She's definitely the animal with the most personality.
Demo (Demophon)
I always seem to end up with one kind of skittish animal. While I lived with Marisa, Darcy would run and hide. Then I got Demo and he eventually turned the same way.
I got Demo the first day I moved out back on my own. I followed a Lubbock Lost and Found group and a lady said she saw a kitten get run over by a car. He was okay but needed help and treatment and she couldn't keep him because her other cats were being bullies. So I messaged her and on May 1st, went to go pick him up with Rony.
The lady said she was behind the car when Demo was hit and thought he was dead. She stopped and scooped him up and luckily he was alive, but looked out of it. She took him to the vet and after a night, he seemed okay and didn't have any brain damage. His front right arm was paralyzed and had road rash but he had perked up and was extremely vocal.
We got him and took him to my new empty apartment and the first thing he did was climb into the motor of my refrigerator and try to kill himself. Yep. So he got to stay in the bathroom while everything was moved in and kitten proofed.
Not well enough though because then he managed to climb into my recliner and get stuck in the springs. After my cardboard blocking it off, he finally stopped getting stuck everywhere. That first day he meowed constantly and would only calm down if I held him. Ryder and Pumpkaboo weren't thrilled but mostly ignored him. He was very attached to Ryder who didn't particularly care for him.
We named him Demo after Demophon of Eleusis in Greek Mythology. And because I thought Demo was a funny name after a few close calls. We took him to the vet and got him de-wormed and fixed up. His arm was permanently dead but he had drawn it up into his chest so it wasn't dragging and therefore, didn't need to be amputated. Eventually I think we will do it just to make sure it doesn't get infected since he can't clean it properly.
He got around just fine but was super attached to me. Somehow eventually, that turned into hiding if anyone but me was around. It took a year before he would come out for Rony, but it's still a thing. We're the only people that ever see him in person.
Demo is a night owl. He pops up at night to cuddle and is still very vocal. He also acts like I am dying every time I go to the bathroom. He will mysteriously appear and yell at me for the entire duration I am in the bathroom, grabbing my hand and rubbing against my legs. It's a strange quirk and has made sneaking to the bathroom much harder. He will find me every time.
He doesn't care about treats or toys much, but loves to play fight with Pumpkaboo and is the friendliest towards the dogs. As long as they don't lick his face or try to clean him too much.
Almond Joy
Almond is our baby and an accident. Kinda. My aunt passed away a few years ago and was a big animal lover. She had a couple of dogs, an old pit/Shar Pei named Peanut and a blue Pitbull named Bella, and my grandma took them in afterwards along with my cousin's Dalmation, Otto. Well accidents happened and Bella and Otto ended up with puppies. Most of them got adopted but they kept two. Unfortunately, Bella ran away or may have gotten stolen.
Well another accident happened. One of the blue-pit/Dalmatian puppies ended up with Peanut. No one thought Peanut could even get pregnant because she was over 10 years old but lo and behold, puppies happened. But most of them ended up passing away and only two were left. They were Ginger and Almond.
We didn't want to give the puppies away because they were Peanuts puppies and we wanted to keep them in the family. So my dad took Ginger. There was no one else for the other puppy so...I took it. Me and my small apartment with three cats. But I couldn't let her go and was planning on getting a house once my lease was up in like 10 months so I thought it'd be okay.
We named her Almond and tried to convince my brother to name the other puppy Hazelnut, but they rebelled and named her Ginger. We wanted them all to be nuts but whatever. She got named Almond Joy as her full name.
Almond was the bully of the two puppies. She would shove Ginger off the bed and was always rough housing. Dad chose first and thought Ginger was the calmer of the two but I was okay with it because Almond was black and white and I was building a black animal army. We took her to the apartment a few times because she fully lived with me and then attempted to make her a playpen out of grid. She was NOT happy.
She then proceeded to headbutt and climb the pen and knock it over. She didn't want out of it, she just didn't want it there period. It's a thing with her. She hated her kennel and would bark and cry so loud. If we put a baby gate up, she would attempt to climb it or cry and do this earsplitting bark she developed to get our attention.
Almond was a very energetic puppy. She ran around constantly at top speed and destroyed the carpet and shoes and socks and underwear. She destroyed plush toys in seconds. There were days when she was so hard to handle sometimes I cried, but it wasn't her fault. She was part dalmatian and stuck in a tiny apartment with no yard.
She got along wonderfully with other dogs though. Almond LOVES other animals and always wants to say hi. She loves to snuggle and would sleep in between Rony and us under the blankets. When she gets tired of walking around while we're out and about, she throws herself on the ground until Rony picks her up. She hates water but loves to lay in the grass and just watch everything. As she's gotten older (and gotten a big yard), she's chilled out a lot. Still chews up things and very stubborn, but there are less days when she's getting in trouble.
We got a new bed and she was never more excited than when she realized she could crawl under it. It's her new favorite spot. She still sees her sister every now and then. Ginger is a chubby, spoiled butt who is now the more hyper of the two. She's my dad's little baby since Max passed away. But they're still very much alike.
Almond will turn 2 years old in October and she's a small horse. Tall and sleek and fast as a cheetah, she loves to do laps in the yard. We're constantly complimented on how she looks. So far we haven't met another dog that looks just like her but then again, Pit/Shar-Pei/Dalmatian is a weird mix.
She does really good with the dog sitting and has adjusted to all the different animals coming and going. But every now and then we'd notice she would just get depressed when all the animals were gone. I bugged Rony about getting a puppy. I wanted one young enough to get along with the animals but also to learn how to get along with Almond. She's very dominant and I didn't want to risk any fights.
I followed a bunch of rescues and shelters online. And then, a week before my birthday, we found Leon.
Leon
Okay, technically we met A Leon in December. I had found another dog, a German Shepherd mix, online and fell in love. Unfortunately, the shelter would never get back to me. I tried a bunch but we had to let that Leon go (we actually got to talk with them later and it turns out that Leon needs a lot of work and wouldn't be good with other dogs so it all worked out.)
Rony wasn't really down with getting a puppy. We were playing with the idea of moving and he thought it would be better to get one after we moved. But I obsess once I get ideas and could't leave the idea alone. I would show him photos and he would shrug. Finally I showed him a picture of a litter of puppies that would be at an Adoption Day for a rescue. He finally relented that we could go to some adoption events to check them out.
Being me, I had already bought new beds for the dogs and toys and everything (very cheaply!) I tried not to think that we're getting a puppy, just checking things out, but I wanted one so bad. We went to the adoption event and instantly found the puppies. They were white and brown and some were black and white and brown. They were adorable and knew one was coming home with us. And so did Rony.
Rony got to pick to help win him over and picked a brown and white puppy with black speckles all over his nose. He melted and I knew I had won him over. We filled out all the paper work and paid the adoption fee. We snuck him into Target and got him puppy food and a little Lion toy. We bounced around a names and kept coming back to Leon. Yeah, we stole another dog's name but he looked much more like a Leon than the other one! (We were going to name that one Regis if we had adopted him).
On the way home, Rony got a pretzel and suddenly the puppy turned into a little beast. He kept going after it, trying to steal it away. Him and his siblings were found abandoned under a house for a few days so I figured this was leftover from that, but he's still a food fiend. To distract him, I made little howling noises. Leon stopped and looked at us. We kept doing it and finally, he did it with us. His voice cracked but he tried so hard to howl. It was the cutest thing ever.
Almond met him outside and could care less. He was 8 weeks old and a tiny little nugget. She was interested but knew she couldn't really play with him. When we took them outside, he would stumble after her. She kept trying to give him toys that were bigger than him and attempt tug of war but would almost fling him. He played with the cats toys since they were his size and snuggled with us in bed. A few days later, he cried so much while we were at work he lost his voice.
Eventually, both of them got along perfectly. They would play fight and share toys (which Almond never did before) and roll around in the yard. Almond liked to push him over constantly, much to our annoyance. He was also scared of a lot of things. Random inanimate objects scared him. He would bark and bark and bark until we showed him it was nothing. One time he saw an empty black plastic pot in the yard and started barking at it. Almond grabbed it and started chasing him with it. It got ripped apart pretty quickly.
Leon is a food monster. He has a puzzle feeder or else he eats too fast and will steal your food if you don't watch him. He will shower you in kisses and hug and snuggle in your arms. He learns commands quickly but is quiet. He'll sit by the backdoor to go potty quietly until you notice him and then he'll ring the bell. He can't learn shake because instead of pawing at your hand, he'll just sit and wait. Almond is loud and demanding but he is very submissive.
He's still getting use to meeting people and new animals and going to new places. Leon loves meeting new people and will wag his tail so much his whole butt wiggles, but he gets overwhelmed easily. But he loves to give kisses to every animal and person.
All our animals are crazy and unique and we could talk about them constantly. They're our little family and it's weird to think of a time before we had them all. It's never boring with them around and I like it that way. Moving them to Seattle is going to be an adventure but it'll be good for us all. I'd love to take the dogs to more places that will allow them and to the ocean to play.
This was a long one but I hope you enjoyed it! Tell me all about your animals! I love hearing fur baby stories :)
-Sam <3