The Elders

This month I had the unique opportunity to sit for all dogs elderly.  Earlier in the month I watched Albert, the Golden Retriever, again and the animal herd he lives with, including Pedro the bird. 

Pedro is a sweet bird who says "Hi!" and willingly crawls on your shoulder to follow you around the house.  He's friends with the dog and is not at all threatened by the beast 30 times it's size.

And introducing the newest seniors: Beau, Cody, and Rupert.

Beau, Cody, Rupert

 Beau is an Australian Shepherd mix who is most likely a forever-foster dog.  Cody is a Red Heeler Mix who loves to fetch and retrieve the ball.  And Rupert is a Golden Retriever therapy dog for Intermountain Therapy Animals who, ironically won't retrieve.  He'll bring it back but refuses to drop the ball.  These three guys are obviously good buddies and made my stay far from mellow.  Despite their age they are active and up for anything.   At one point I took all three of them for a walk through the neighborhood.  Beau struggles with walking and mobility in his legs and though he lagged behind a little bit and had to rest every 20 steps or so, he never seemed discouraged or ready to quit.  The other two charged ahead ready to take on the world.

Molly the cat stayed hidden most of the time, but showed herself for this brief interaction.

Sherman and Emmie

Last month I had the opportunity to sit for Sherman, the Terrier mix and Emmie the Siamese.  I have posted about Emmie before but this a first for Sherman as he usually stays elsewhere.  Sherman is a gentle and loving therapy dog for Intermountain Therapy Animals.  One of his quirks is he collects household items and stores them on and around his bed, including his leash for when it's time to go walking. 

Sherman the hoarder

 Sherman has a dog-friend neighbor, Cheyenne, who took the liberty of walking herself with us when we went on our daily walks.  Every time we'd pass her house she would inevitably emerge from behind the house and run along with us, periodically looking over her shoulder at us to make sure we were still following.  At first I thought she was a stray, but soon realized she knew the neighborhood well and would return to her home across the street upon finishing the walk, giving us a goodbye glance before romping back to her yard.  She appears to be a Smooth Coat Collie mix. 

Cheyenne - cooling off

Emmie was her same Emmie self, resting and eating all the day long. 

The Fat Cat

Meet Oliver, the office cat.  He is an 18 pound orange Tabby.   Believe it or not, when he came to us he weighed a whopping 30 pounds.  The poor cat could hardly turn his head from side to side and we actually had to take his kennel apart and pry him out because his mass consumed so much space.  We obviously put him on a diet.  He does his best to harass us all day long for more meals.

He misses Cindy when she leaves.