Thank you to everyone who reached out about Molly, whom you'll recall required surgery. She went in yesterday and everything went well! She's now home recovering, and the biggest challenge is getting her to stay still. But Mark and I aren't the only nurses -- she has two siblings to keep her company, especially as our weather down here gets colder (relatively-speaking). I've mentioned them in my 'About Me', but I thought I'd take a little time to introduce them while we're on the subject of pets.
Molly
aka Miss Ma'am
Molly is, despite her non-erect (yet still very expressive) ears, is a German Shepherd / Belgian Malinois mix, aka a Shepinois. We got her from a friend of a friend in 2016, when she was about seven months old. Back then she was a very nervous pup and it took a lot of time to gain her trust, and even nowadays she has separation anxiety and issues with her head being touched by people she doesn't know.
As well as being a daddy's girl, she's also very sensitive – and boy does she know how to work a pout to get what she wants! We try not to spoil her, but she's 85lbs of sweetness and smarts so sometimes it's hard to resist. Her favorite things include her spot on the couch (next to Mark of course), her stuffies, and baby carrots. She dislikes walking through puddles, tapping of lampshades, and her inexplicable nemesis Lola, a Dachshund two doors down.
Penny
aka Miss Fluffybritches
Penny was the first pet Mark and I adopted together, this time from a local shelter in 2013 when she was (also!) seven months old. She was apparently the only one of her litter to have survived. We were placed in the older kitten room and Mark picked her out because she was the only one not yelling and climbing all over us. Ever since then – like all cat owners of course – we have proudly proclaimed her as Best Cat.
Her key attribute is that she is small. Very small. Despite being perfectly healthy, she has always weighed between 6.5 and 7lbs – but that is 7lbs of tenacity and she shows no sign of slowing down. Her favorite things include anything sugary we might be eating, licking our ankles when we get out of the shower, and morningtime cuddles with Momma. Contrastingly, she dislikes phonecalls happening near her, her water being near her food, and her baby brother invading her personal space (which is almost always).
Magnus
aka Magni or, more often, Boy
Magnus came to us via the Cat Distribution System (i.e., friend of a friend of a friend), and as the youngest creature we have ever adopted. He was found in an alley behind a nail salon in June 2024, and about six weeks old when he came to us, tiny and fleabitten and scared. It took several weeks for him to get back to a healthy weight, for his eyes to clear, and for all of his missing fur to grow back. He's something of a novelty in that while we've owned a male dog before, neither of us have ever owned a male cat (or for me, as an adult at least); consequently when he's in trouble I frequently call him 'Son'.
He and Penny don't get along that well – not because he doesn't try, of course, or because she isn't open to the idea, but he is rambunctious and plays a bit rough, having learnt to play from Molly (who is very good with smaller animals, for the record). He is also twice her size, muscular from all the parkour he does at 3AM, and often doesn't know his own strength. He's getting much better, though, and arguably listens more than his sisters do. His favorite things are small pieces of trash (especially swizzle sticks and Monster can wrappers), his red blanket, and being cradled like a baby by Mark. He is not fond of outside, any of us going outside, and being held like a normal cat.
I myself grew up having at least two pets, often more. Before we moved to the UK, we lived out in the boonies and my mother had a penchant for adopting strays, particularly through a friendship with the local vet; at one point we had thirteen cats and five dogs. The only time I've not had a pet was the four years after I moved back, prior to Mark and I getting together. Mark's family often had a dog when he was growing up. Despite the fur everywhere, the nose art on the windows, and running out of room on the couch, neither of us can imagine a life without them.
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