This page is devoted to my husband's, Eric, and my family- our beautiful pets! It has been an honor being a part of the lives of all of these wonderful creatures, and I thank God for that honor.

Some of the babies below have passed on.. this page is also a tribute to them.

Meet Magic. We met on October 30, 1990 and he has had my heart ever since. This guy was so intelligent and loving, a wonderful daddy to all the others in our home. Also a ham for the camera, as you can see. He is also my first miracle kitty. September 24, 2003, on our 5th wedding anniversary, I was told that he wouldn't live more than 12-18 months at most, because of having cardio myopothy (a condition where his heart is very large, and 1 chamber of his heart was much larger than the others). He lived for over 3 more years, while taking less medication. Truly an answer to my prayers! We lost Magic on January 21, 2007, and our little family will never be the same. He is truly missed, and always will be!

This beauty is Spitfire, Magic's lady for 11 years. He first saw her wandering outside of my first apartment, and every time he saw her, he got so excited. It was obvious he was in love, so naturally I had to adopt her. Little did I know at the time that she was pregnant. We had Spitfire from March 3, 1991 until her death on August 11, 2002. She was an absolute joy to have around, and she certainly helped keep everyone in line! She earned her name well!

This handsome fellow is Bob, the first born of Spitfire's children born on April 24, 1991, 3 days after my 20th birthday. What a gift! Always a lover, Bob was the first to demand attention from any visitors. He also enjoyed playing fetch with a tiny jingle bell. His death on December 14, 2003 left a large absence in our home and hearts.

This handsome little man is Bear, Spitfire's second son. Unfortunately, he was not with me long, but he was as sweet as they come. Gentle and loving, but silly too. He loved napping with his big sister, Fluffy (pictured below). I named him after Fozzy Bear of the Muppets fame, because as a baby, when nursing, he wiggled his ears just like Fozzy Bear.

This tired little lady is Fluffy, Bob's and Bear's sister. A little princess, Fluffy always gave plenty of love in her prissy way. The night before she passed away on February 13, 2004, I believe she knew her time was at hand.. sick as she was, she curled up onto my lap. As I held her, she cuddled closer than she ever had before, as if she was saying goodbye. This sweet little lady is greatly missed.

And finally, this is the last of Spitfire's children, Sneezer. I named her such because as a kitten, she frequently made herself sneeze by rubbing her nose along Mama's tummy fur. Sneezer was a spunky, intelligent and very affectionate lady, who took over her mother's role as queen of this castle since her passing. I occasionally called her Spitfire, jr. because of her personality being so much like her mama's. Sneezer passed on August 8, 2009 from lung cancer at age 18. She is greatly missed.

This sweet little guy is Bubba. I was blessed to have him in my life from August 21, 1992- December 11, 2001 when he passed away from emphysema and feline AIDS. He was just a tiny little thing when I got him, only about four weeks old. Bubba was undoubtedly the gentlest, sweetest kitty I have ever known, and he has a very special place in my heart. He will always be Mommy's little freebird.

This pretty lady is Poo Kitty. We adopted her on August 31, 1995, and this picture was taken shortly after that day. Isn't she the cutest thing? Poo grew into a beautiful, gentle, loving kitty, who loved to give kisses when asked, especially to her daddy, undoubtedly the love of her life. Poo passed away suddenly from what appeared to be heart problems stemming from a thyroid condition on August 11, 2010. We miss our furry little girl, but are somewhat comforted knowing she's with her best buddy, Sugar, once again..

This handsome, silly little guy is Sugar, Poo's best friend. We adopted him on June 6, 1996 as a stray who lived outside our old apartment. He and Poo quickly developed a close friendship, and his death on April 30, 2002 devastated her as well as us. Sugar was always the clown of the family- making us laugh constantly with his goofy antics.

And this beauty is Delta Custom, named after my car under which she was found by my husband. She was a very young little gal at the time, and with only 3 legs, we didn't have the heart to leave her to exist in the wild. September 29, 1997 was the day we finally got this wild kitty into our home. She made herself quite at home with us, and was always an absolute angel. She also had a weakness for whipped cream and cheddar cheese. She has been known to dance around the refrigerator when whipped cream is out. Her passing on December 22, 2006 left a large absence in our lives only our little whipped cream fiend could fill...

This cutie is Doofus, our big, handsome tuxedo cat. He was also a stray living outside that old apartment. I took him in to give to a friend who changed her mind. Thankfully! October 13, 1999 was that special day for us. Doofus was a big guy, weighing in at about 20 pounds, and was all heart. He passed away unexpectedly on December 16, 2009, and is missed very, very much by every member of our family.

Cute or what?? This is Kitten Kaboodle, Doofus's lady friend. This was one tough gal.. I have seen her whoop a Rottweiler four times her size, and a nasty little ferret! Yet, she was also a gentle, loving little gal with us. Unfortunately, she was stolen from us in December, 2000, but before she left, she gave us a great gift- a litter of three beautiful little girls born February 15, 2000!

Here is Kaboodle's daughter #1, Spanky. She is fun-loving, intelligent and very playful. Spanky never really asks for attention, rather makes it seem as if she is doing you a favor by allowing you to pet her. But, she is sweet as she can be, and always a lot of fun. Very curious and adventurous. When we moved into our home, she was the first to explore every single nook and cranny. She's a bit odd though. This picture was taken when she went through a phase of sitting in the bathtub after someone had recently gotten out of the shower. She passed away from renal failure on October 7, 2010, leaving us without our goofy, beautiful little tabico.

Here is one of Spanky's little sisters, Weeble, named for her fondness of sitting in this position as a kitten (anyone else remember the Weeble Wobbles??) Weeble is a gentle, motherly, and mischievous little lady. Always looking for someone to love or play with, she is also the first to offer love if either my husband or I are feeling sick or upset.

And, the last of Kaboodle's little girls, Squeaky, with her best buddy, Bubba. Squeaky was extremely intelligent and sensitive, and always looking for someone to cuddle, be it human or feline. Whenever I asked for a kiss, she would stretch as far as she could towards me so I could kiss the top of her head. It was something she started as a kitten of only a couple weeks old. When Bubba died, this little lady went into a mourning for about nine months. She barely acknowledged anyone during that time- keeping to herself, not playing as usual, and often staying in the basement. It was heartbreaking, but thankfully, she finally reached a healing, and started living again. She passed away suddenly on September 27, 2007, leaving a large void in our lives. The only consolation of that loss is knowing that she is with her best buddy once again...

This cute guy is Curious George, aka Georgie. We adopted him at the young age of only about 4 weeks.. he was born to a stray living in a lady's yard. She was going to have animal control remove the family that week, so rather than let them be taken away, we adopted this cutie and his brother, and raised them ourselves. Georgie has always been extremely curious, ever since our first meeting, which explains his name. He gets into anything he can, including my crochet bag.. But we wouldn't have him any other way- he's our cuddly little guy, who often sleeps on top of me.

And this is Pretty Boy, Georgie's brother. Gorgeous kitty or what? He loves laying by the fireplace during winter months as he is doing in this picture, lounging on the enclosed porch and chasing the other kitties. He is extremely affectionate and gentle. An absolute treasure.

This adorable mutt is Bear. I gave him to Eric for his birthday in October, 2002. He is part Chow Chow, part black lab and part Chihuahua. Such a good boy who knows that 1 bark means "yes", 2 barks means "no" and 3 barks means "I love you". Isn't he smart?? He loves squeaky toys, car rides and snuggles. We lost Bear on February 21, 2013 after a brief battle with cancer. He is so very sorely missed!

This beautiful, yet grumpy gal is Jasmine. We adopted her on August 8, 2003 after her last owner passed away. She's quite independent, as she's always been an only pet, but she adjusted well. We were blessed with our beautiful snowshoe kitty until her leaving us suddenly on August 2, 2011. In the eight years we shared, Jasmine taught me a great deal about love, strength and a "never give up" attitude. On Christmas day, 2009, she had her first (and worst) of four major strokes. She fought to regain her faculties, and after each stroke, fought again. She was one tough little girl, with an incredibly loving heart. My beautiful angel always will be greatly missed.

And this beauty is Miss Dixie, with her trademark hot pink toys. (She loves hot pink anything!) A dear friend of mine who knew we were looking for another dog found an American Eskimo breeder, who had this beautiful little lady up for adoption. She is a fun loving, cuddly little girl who loves to give lots of kisses to anyone she meets, and loves hot pink toys. She seems to think she is part cat, but I guess that is to be expected considering Sneezer and Magic raised her. Dixie also has the ability to charm anyone and everyone she meets, whether they want to be charmed or not... truly a Southern belle! She makes me so proud!

This handsome husky/wolf is Danya. He appeared in our yard one night in January, 2005. We tried to find his owners for over a week, but found they had moved away and left him and his brother behind. We decided to adopt him. I named him Danya because I read it means, "gift of God" in Russian.. it seemed fitting for him. He really was a gift- a fun, loving and very protective boy. Upon meeting my dad, he nipped his hand, until I told him that Granddad was ok- don't bite him! He decided I was right, and covered Granddad in kisses every time he saw him after that. Danya passed on March 26, 2009. He had been fighting diabetes and related conditions plus a heart defect. Our big goofy husky will always be missed.

This is Tweak, possibly the cutest, sweetest guinea piggy ever, with his buddy, Doofus. Since we adopted Tweak on August 2, 2006, he has charmed every animal in our home, but the dogs in particular. Dixie often covered him in kisses, which he loved. Poor Doofus also loved him, but seemed confused about this, as he was once a great mouser...sometimes he would look at Tweak as if to say, "I used to eat things like you...why do I like you so much?" How adorable! Tweak passed away on April 10, 2010. We truly miss our silly little piggy!

This little cutie pie is Chester. Where Eric worked in 2008, the property is surrounded by woods, and in those woods are tons of feral kitties. One of his co-workers, bless her heart, works with a trap/neuter/release program, and Chester here was a part of that. He became company pet- the one feral cat who would look for human attention. He won Eric's heart as a teeny kitten, and in about 8 months later on July 12, 2008, we adopted him. That is when he won my heart..

This handsome guy is Vincent. He was my Granddad's cat, and my cousin adopted him after his passing. October 25, 2008, she asked us to watch him for a while while she moved, then later decided to give him to us. We couldn't have asked for a better gift! He is a wonderful guy- funny, intelligent, devoted, and extremely independent. His personality reminds me of Granddad. Vincent passed away suddenly on December 21, 2010, and is greatly missed.

This handsome little man is Bo. Shortly after Spanky's death, I realized that in only 14 months, we lost 4 wonderful cats. It affected all of us, so I decided we needed a kitten. They're such clowns, how could a kitten not brighten up our home? Bo here came from the Anne Arundel County animal control. When I saw that cute little face, I couldn't help but want to bring him home. He's a charmer and as sweet as they come, even though he was a bit grouchy when this picture was taken shortly after his arrival at our home on November 5, 2010. He had just met Bear, and was intimidated by a big dog. Now, they are very close buddies, though. Anyway, once I saw him, I realized that in the cage beneath him was his brother, Luke...

Here's Luke. Another charmer and complete love bug. Luke here spent his first night in our home sleeping on my husband's chest. He likes to nap in the cutest, silliest poses, and when I wake him, he meows softly at me, then purrs loudly while giving me a look that says, "I love you Mommy!"

This pretty little lady is Valentine. I gave her to Eric for a Valentine's day gift in 2011. When we got Bo and Luke, he's said he wanted a girl. That was fine with me, but upon meeting Bo and Luke, I couldn't not adopt them! I didn't deliberately pick out two boys- it's just how things worked out. So anyway, when Valentine's day was coming, I could not figure out what to give Eric. I prayed, and one day, I found out a former classmate of mine (who works with a local rescue) had this pretty lady for adoption. I found that out on Valentine's day morning, and by that afternoon, I was home with this pretty kitty. Eric was surprised for sure, and is quite happy with his little gift. This silly girl is quite fun loving and extremely affectionate- she will force us to snuggle! She is a shameless flirt! She is also madly in love with Chester. They are quite the sweet couple!

On the evening of July 17. 2012, a friend of mine called me. She told me about this local farmer she knew who had just found a litter of kittens about 3-4 weeks old in one of his out buildings. Mama kitty was nowhere in sight. She asked me to come check the kittens out to be sure they were doing alright. We had a heat wave of 100* plus temperatures, in addition to an extremely severe thunderstorm called a derecho not long before these babies were found. Eric and I discussed visiting these babies, and it was obvious to me we were coming home with at least one kitten. When I saw Sabrina, all shy & sweet in her cage, I knew she had to come home with me. Little did I know once she was home, her inner diva personality would come out!

And this cutie is Zippy, Sabrina's brother. He is as bold as a lion, but gentle, very sweet and loving. He also enjoys tackling his sister when she least expects it, hoarding plastic bags and catnip. He is so interesting- his personality is very much like Magic's- he is highly intelligent, nurturing, mature beyond his years and compassionate. If I believed in reincarnation, I would be convinced Magic had come back to me. Instead, I believe God knew I needed another cat like Magic in my life, so He sent me my sweet little Zippy. Zippy has a tiny white spot on his chest in the shape of a heart. :)