Pets are family too!

If you’re like me, my pets are considered a huge part of my family. I consider them my “kids”.  From my beloved Samoyeds, our two cat rescues,  and my Ragdoll cat, each pet has played a special part in my life.  Even down to my catfish named “Fred” (and he’s over 1 ft. long in length).   I first found out about my love and attraction for animals when I was a wee girl (around 5 years old) when a stray skunk, I officially named “Kitty” began wandering in our back yard each morning.  I can still hear my Mum screaming, pleading for me to come back to the house. Of course my Daddy was the one who remained calm, and finally coaxed me away from my new found attraction.  In attempt to deter me from my new “pet”, my parents soon presented me with my two new best friends! A stuffed rabbit  and a real live, tiny cream colored kitten, named Pinky (who lived to the ripe old age of around 15 years old).  Bless his heart, I’ll always remember my Daddy, still getting a big kick out of this experience as I got older.

To this day, I still love skunks and all animals.  Eventually I’ll have to share my experience with an Alpaca named “Mascot”, when the rascal decided he wanted to sit in the front seat of our van.  I love spinning and blending exotic fibers together such as Alpaca with my Samoyeds’ undercoat, and have blended English Angora with sheep fiber to make lovely yarns.  I enjoy going to the Sheep and Wool Festivals and finding unique books on different sheep breeds. My husband is definitely relieved to know I won’t be able to bring any “live lambs” back on the plane with me when I visit my family in Northern Ireland.

Here are just a few pics I decided to share of three of my beloved pets that I’ve been fortunate enough to be owned and loved by.  My last Samoyed, Panda (shown below), passed away two years ago now, and we decided to adopt another dog from a rescue shelter.  His  name is “Patches”, and his mother was an Australian Shepherd, but his father (unknown at the time), had to be a “hunting dog”.

The cat in my newest book called Mortal Magick, (soon to be released)  was named after and created from the delightful antics of my own Ragdoll cat, Samson.  As you can see, he’s a huge help when I head for my laptop.         Samson, Panda and Patches are pictured below.

If you have a special pet that has made a big influence in your life, please feel free to drop a wee post!