Five Little Pups

Remember Spike??

Spike was supposed to be a boy...and we got him a male friend except

NOT really!!

Remember Spikette??

Well, they were more then just friends!

Actually, hubby and I got an interesting National Geographic lesson a few weeks ago...

Look what they did!

She's a good little momma!

Interesting fact: Gerbil daddies actually help with the rearing and he's very protective.
Interesting fact #2: Gerbils make more babies immediately after delivery (that ain't right, by the way) and she's probably pregnant as I type.

SPIKETTE?

Remember Spike? Well...me being the idiot that I apparently am...decided to get Spike a friend. The people at the pet store said that since he's a male I could get another male and they might not fight. If they did, I was told that I could bring him back.

There was NO fighting at all when I put the new friend in the cage. As a matter of fact, they happily sniffed each other's rear ends (Did you think dogs only did that??). I started thinking... Is Spike really a he?? Thank goodness for the internet because I was able to look at pictures on how to tell the difference between male and female gerbils. Guess what folks? I'm thinking Spike is really a Spikette.

Who wants some gerbil pups? As you can see, they are in love!

Told you I'm an idiot!

Spike!

Before Little Miss's 6th Birthday we asked her what she wanted... I asked her if she wanted a bike and she replied "Mom, you already got me one of those...found it in the garage a few days ago." Little Stinker!

The only thing she asked for was an animal "just like bubby's". We had bought him a guinea pig and I decided that we didn't need two in the house. I could just imagine the arguments about whose guinea pig was the best. My other fear was that, somehow, she'd wind up with a guinea that actually was better and liked to be held and petted. So, after much thought we decided on a gerbil because it actually stays up during the day and has less tendency to bite than a hamster.

Meet Spike!

Kinda cute in a mousy kind of way!

I consider myself a fairly intelligent person, most of the time. This little piece right here connects to his cage and came with some litter because supposedly gerbils/hamsters/other small critters can be pottie trained to only go in there! Can you read gullible on my forehead from where you're sitting?? It actually came with a little yellow shovel to scoop the poo as well. Can you believe I seriously fell for it? Duh!

I've found out what it REALLY is. It's an escape pod. It's where he goes to get out of his cage. There's nothing worse then sitting here at my computer, happily typing away, and see this little white, furry critter scurry under my chair. We've found him everytime so far, but I always have this fear he's going to get into the vents or something. I think my mother planted that in my mind when I was a child and my hamster kept getting out of it's cage.

So here's my question?? How do you persuade the child to get rid of it??

This is Slick

Meet Slick, the newest addition to our family. He's really cute and fun to watch. He has this little squeak or whistle sound he makes when you bring him a treat. We got him as an early nine year birthday present for Jared. Jared is really doing a wonderful job about feeding and watering him daily while making sure his water bottle is full with vitamins added. He plays with him quite a bit and the best part, is that he's not a nocturnal creature--he's awake during the day.

This little guy was actually purchased to replace our lost kitty, Panda. I tried several cats before coming up with this small, caged critter; however, I have recently acquired the ability to pick the worst behaved animals. I brought two cats home the first go...siblings, a little male and female, Jasmine and Ace. They were beautiful exotic short hairs. Between the two of them, I almost had no skin left, and the kids couldn't get near them. Thus, I gave them back to the breeder. Next, a gal from work gave me a little male (she paid for the neutering) and I thought I was getting a fabulous deal. Mason was a little lover but he had this thing about peeing in my laundry baskets. No, he didn't have a UTI because we checked. One evening I found where he had peed in my clean white clothes. I kind of had a problem with that and the lady that gave him to me took him back as well. I got the next little fellow at one of the shelters here in town where they had already had him neutered. Max also loved to be held and petted--you could hear his little motor running from across the room. His problem was pooping on the carpet and his love of plastic. He liked to pee on my bathroom rugs or any plastic bags that kid toys came in (like the Lego bags). I gave him to a lady that could keep him outside--her kids fell in love with him.

So this post in is memory of Panda, our 17 pound ball of fur that loved to be held like a baby. I have picture after picture of him with the kids. Whether they were dragging him around or dressing him up he never cared. He loved them no matter what. What a great cat. This post also celebrates Slick because his presence has helping the kids cope with the loss of their best cat.