Family History
Our story is a slightly modern version of the classic tale of boy meets girl. Chris and I met almost 7 years ago, of course we’re madly in love, we’re not married (yet!), but we do have a family—but not babies. Whew. Big sigh of relief. Our family is a brood of animals—our dog, Fletcher, and 5 cats, (Elsie, Daphne, Monkey, Basement Cat, and Cleo). Here’s a quick explanation about each pet and how they joined our family.
Fletcher (aka The Pooch) chocolate lab; male
I could go on and on about how much I love Fletchie. He’s my baby. Although, he’s a big dog (95 lbs.), he thinks he’s a lap dog. He’s the only one of our animals that we bought from a breeder (and will probably be the last because there are way to many animals in rescues and shelters that need homes). We found a breeder in Ephrata, went to visit, and voila! We found our first baby. There were only 2 chocolate puppies left—Fletcher and his brother. We picked Fletcher because his paws were smaller than his brother’s.
Elsie tortoiseshell; female
Chris found Elsie under our dryer vent on a cold night. (He pretends that he’s not a softy). We let her stay in the foyer for the night but the plan was that we’d let her out in the morning. Obviously, things didn’t go as planned since we still have her. She must remember that it was Chris that brought her in because she’s definitely Daddy’s little girl.
Daphne mixed colors; female
Daphne was at a local pet store and needed a home so I adopted her. She’s our scaredy cat. She’s not a fan of Fletcher and she hates Chris. I’m really the only person that she likes. We call her Creeper because she follows me around and sometimes when I wake up at night she’s on my nightstand staring at me.
Monkey gray; male
I always wanted a gray cat so when I found a tiny gray kitten that needed a home, I gave him one. Monkey is a little bit of a bastard. He tends to play rough with Elsie and Daphne. I’m not sure they’ve forgiven me for bringing home a brother. He has many nicknames but one of them is “biting turkey.” I’m not sure where the turkey part came from but the biting is because…well, he bites.
Basement Cat black with white-ish stripes; female
Basement Cat found me a couple of years ago. I was not looking for a 4th cat but she seemed neglected so I fed her and took care of a pretty nasty case of fleas. Our intention was to find a home for her but we’ve been unsuccessful. Of course, she’s super sweet and I’ve fallen in love. She mainly lives in our basement because she’s not always a fan of the other animals. Pooch has a scar on his nose from one of their first encounters.
Cleo siamese; female
Cleo joined our family under unfortunate circumstances. She was my grandmother’s cat but when my grandmom passed away, Cleo came to live at my house. Sure, our house was a little crowded but I couldn’t see her end up with anyone else. It’s been an adjustment for her because she was used to living in a very quiet house without any other animals—now she has cat siblings and a dog sibling. But she seems to be taking everything in stride and is adjusting well. She’s our only cat that wears a bell so I can always tell when she’s exploring the upstairs. She has yet to venture downstairs but I’m sure she will when she’s ready.
