This is one of my beloved pets, a purebred Siberian Husky named Zuni. Zuni was born in May, 1987 in a litter of six pups belonging to Kay and Brian Lawson, who are among the many mushers (dogsled racers) in the Fairbanks, Alaska area. He was the only blue-eyed male puppy in the litter and when I first examined the pups, it was he who followed me away from the rest of his brethren and focused much attention on me. So he selected me. Zuni died on Christmas Eve, 2001. His passing has caused immeasurable sadness and he is sorely missed. No dog was ever loved more, and he returned that love a thousand times over.
And this is Kaibab, my other husky. Kaibab came to us in spring of 1991 as
a stray who had been severely abused by his former owner. He and Zuni decided
together that he was going to come live with us; I really had little say in the
matter. He needed a few years of TLC before he began to gain some self-confidence
but was an immenseley satisfactory dog and a good companion for Zuni. Kaibab
died June 4, 2002, and he, too is sorely missed. What a wonderful dog and a real
proof he was that the best dogs aren't necessarily the puppies bought from
breeders. To see him blossom into the great companion he became was one of the
most rewarding things I've ever experienced.
These guys lived with me in Fairbanks until January, 1997 when we moved to New Mexico, along with our polydactyl cat, Sasquatch (who was a Pound Kitty from Fairbanks). We lived in New Mexico for four years, then moved on to Madison, Wisconsin, where we settled in again for a couple of years. Poor Zuni and Kaibab ended their days in Madison, Sasquatch moved with me back to New Mexico in August, 2002, when I started working at Los Alamos.
Sasquatch was lonely so we adopted Shiva (Destructo-cat), who settled
in well enough.
Alas, poor Sasquatch finally had his kidneys catch up
to him after ten years post-antifreeze-incident, and he died in November,
2004. Sasquatch and Shiva are shown together here; Sasquatch is the one
with the golden eyes (on the right) and Shiva is the green-eyed monster
on the left. After Sasquatch died, Shiva was lonely and despondent so we adopted Hank (more
commonly called Hankiepooper), a feisty, mischievous and very
young red tabby. Hankie is shown here in one of his favorite places.
Life goes on....
Now we have acquired another family member, an older cat whom I decided to foster from the Animal Shelter (where I volunteer on Saturdays). Caddie is a sweet calico (mostly white) who has the misfortune of being toofless. This doesn't seem to slow her down a bit, though, and she has brought some new twists to the feline politics in the household.
And the most recent addition, Mojo! Mojo is a three-year-old Black Bengal (it's a fairly new breed, the Bengals were bred from Asian Leopards). Mojo is a very big boy, extremely athletic and muscular and a bit of a klutz but he and Hankie are best buddies. He has a wonderful temperament and has made a nice addition to the menagerie
