An Addition to the Menagerie

me⋅nag⋅er⋅ie 
–noun
1.a collection of wild or unusual animals, esp. for exhibition.
2.a place where they are kept or exhibited.
3.an unusual and varied group of people.

Just in case some of you were unaware as to the meaning of "Menagerie," I figured I ought to clarify. That word adequately fits my household according to all 3 listed definitions.

Let me give you a little background information, complete with pictures, of course.

First off, we are a family of 5, and though we aren't necessarily unusual (in some cases we are), we are certainly varied. We first acquired our beloved dog, Bellie Villines on November 17, 2001. She was a result of a trip to the Animal Shelter, where we made a deep emotional connection. She is a precious German Shepherd/Husky mix. As some of you know, she soon became known as "Da Wuff," a name which I will take full credit for.

She's getting older and her eyesight is fading, she has a protective motherly streak in her, and she loves belly rubs.

About a year and a half ago, we decided that Da Wuff simply wasn't enough....or at least, that we could handle one more. At church during a meet-n-greet extravaganza, my parents and brothers began talking to a woman from our neighborhood who needed to give away her Golden Retriever puppy for allergy reasons. So my mom especially, being the compassionate woman that she is, decided we should "just try it" to see if Savannah, 6months, would get along with Da Wuff. We've had her for a year and a half now...our trial run with her has never ended. She, too, has grown to acquire her own nickname: "Pup." Ben is to blame for that palindromic name...obviously my family has an issue with sticking to traditional...err...original names.

Ah.

Life is awesome with two giant dogs - Pup and Da Wuff have kept us busy...they are the most spoiled dogs in all of history. Pup constantly gets new chew toys compliments of the clearance aisle at Petsmart and my mom's campassionate heart. This past Saturday, I accepted my mom's excited invitation to accompany her to Petsmart on a simple errand to get some dog food. On the way in, there was the typical three or four cages of little dogs that needed homes...awwww so cute, right? Of course. And who would have thought that my mom's compassionate heart would be stirred yet again?

Yes, it happened.

After observing the obnoxious behavior exhibited by most of the mutts in front of the store, we laid eyes on a cute little guy who was minding his own business on his little bed. Long story short, we now have three dogs. This little man is named Leo according to the lady who sold him to us. Has that stuck? Not so much. I endearingly call him "Little Man," while Ben and Steve have enticed my mom to call him "Jack-Jack." The irony of it all is that we all love the little Pomeranian, and yet...he's only half-house trained...which really means that he's not. He does, however, sleep through the night and is more than willing to curl up in your lap at any moment. Will he stay? We have two weeks 'til we know for sure....he seems like a keeper thus far, besides the occasional dog fight when he steals Savannah's toys. :-)

So....a menagerie?

I think so.

Sorry for the delay in blogs, by the way.....hopefully I'm back for good. :-)