Honey

Last Monday Carl and Ryker were doing a home inspection in Makaha. It was a duplex in rather poor condition, currently occupied by at least twice as many people as it was designed for. Out in the yard was Honey, a Pomeranian, Jack Russel mix of about a year old. She was barking at Carl and he went up to talk to her and pet her. He asked the residents her name, and someone said it was Honey. He said she was cute, and they suggested he take her home.

I was on the phone with Carl taking the inspection notes,and thought he must be nuts to bring home a third dog. Heavens, two is quite enough! He whispered that he would explain later. As soon as they were in the truck, Carl began to explain. She was on a heavy chain, that was tangled up leaving her about 2 feet of length. She had no food or water. Before he could start the engine, she had found half a danish and gulped it down.

Honey now lives the life of a pampered princess. She sleeps on our bed, curled up next to her rescuer. She has gained some weight in the last week, but you can still feel every rib under her shiny black fur. She was so thin it made me want to cry when I first held her. It makes me sad to think how some people treat innocent animals.

Chester thinks Carl brought her home just for him. They play and play and play. When she got outside without a leash, Chester came to get me. She put Charlie in his place a couple of times, and now he just leaves her alone. We now have a "pack" of dogs with a tiny cute thing in the lead.

Quincie the Zookeeper

Quincie started bringing animals to our house a few years ago. It started with a fish she "won" at a school carnival. He is still alive and has been joined by a few friends, some of which have passed on. The fish funeral is not as an emotional of an event as it once was.

The fish were followed by mice. There were 2, then 3, and then a litter of 8. Before we had the science of mouse reproduction figured out there was another litter of 8. The boys and girls were separated, and the boys were sent to live at Kylee's house. Kylee is Quincie's best friend and the other zookeeper. She has birds, mice (thanks to Quincie), dogs, and a cat. There are now only 3 very fat, very spoiled, girl mice. The girls stink less than the boys. This might be a universal truth, not just applicable to mice.

In January Chester arrived! Quincie, and the rest of us, finally had a PUPPY!! We really are dog people and love him lots. Quincie is his "mommy" and takes very good care of him. She is the best at giving him baths and brushing him. She runs with him, teaches him tricks and lets him sleep with her. She kisses him on the head and carries him around on her hip like he is an actual baby.

Not too much later, sometime in March, Charlie, the SECURITY dog moved into Carl's truck. He is awesome. No one is going to mess with us with him around. His bark is fierce! But he is a sweetheart. He doesn't like to run as much as Chester, but prefers a chaotic walk involving sniffing everything sniffable along the way. He really loves the beach and will catch balls in the water until he is out of breath and water logged. Quincie is usually the one that feeds Charlie. When he was sick, he has allergies, and needed medicine, she was the one that hid the pill in the soft dog food and made sure he got it on schedule.

Last night Carl and Ryker came home from work with a surprise for our little zoo keeper. They had caught 3 poison dart frogs. They are working on a house in Manoa and they are plentiful in that area of the island. She had an extra aquarium in her closet, imagine that! They were set up in a frog habitat in no time. They like it warm and humid, wet dirt, dry dirt, a pond for swimming, and ants to eat. They are pretty small, like the size of my Jabra earpiece, less than an inch long. They are shiny black and green. The are not poisonous unless they are eating a steady diet of fire ants, which are not available here. These little guys are harmless. It took only a few minutes before plenty of ants were crawling on the wet cracker Q left outside. The original idea of sugar on a dish was quickly eaten by Chester - plastic dish and all.