The Zen Menagerie

Every once in a while, I catch an episode of 'Animal Hoarders'. It's tough for me to watch because I have such a bleeding heart for animals (specifically strays and rescues) and want to adopt them all myself. I see animal hoarders and think "a little too much whiskey or a dive off the mental deep-end and THAT could be me!"
I sit in rapt fascination, both intrigued and horrified at the lives these people live -which is, I suspect, the purpose of these kinds of shows.

So, there was a part of me that was not only resigned to losing two of our cats, but actually felt good about the manageable number of pets we had in the house. Three cats. That's it.

Or at least, it was.

About three weeks ago, we adopted another stray. This one, a dog. Her name is Roxie and she is a Sharpei/Doberman mix (according to the vet). She is an amazing animal. So smart and SO eager to learn. She loves to do tricks, is very treat driven, and has easily assimilated and transitioned us from 'pride' to 'pack'. The cats hate her tail and we have learned to put things at least 6 inches from the edge of the coffee table for that reason, but she's a snuggle-bug and insists on sleeping in our bed at night. I wake up with her puppy breath on my face often as she somehow manages to burrow under covers to get her head on one of the pillows. She has serious separation anxiety, but LOVES to take car rides. We take her with us when we're running quick errands and she always comes with us to Petsmart, of course.

I haven't been as good about her walks as I should be. I blame my show schedule for some of the difficulty, but it also has to do with my own laziness. I am hoping to add a little motivation by getting myself a decent pair of outdoor skates. I love (and miss) skating - and she's the perfect dog to take out on a pair of skates. I used to rollerskate as a kid with our basset hound... but alas, she would often trip over her ears, which made for a very slow-going journey.

So... we're up to four animals in the house (not including Jay or the kids)... wait... five.

I forgot about the turtle.
It's actually my daughter's turtle. She's had it for years - a red-eared slider that I suspect was illegal for her to own because it was smaller than 'allowed' when she got it. Not so much any more. We just invested in a much bigger tank and a new setup for the turtle as well... which isn't a big deal until we realized how cramped the old tank was and how unhealthy that poor turtle was. I'm glad it ended up transitioning here as it wasn't really being taken care of at 'dad's house'.

Three cats, a dog, and a turtle.
Oy vey.
No more.

I think we've reached an acceptable balance. No more additions or subtractions please. :)

And here's the photo tally:
Roxie, Benedick, Claire, Spartacus, and Ninja.