Snapshots From A House Full Of Pets

With five dogs and five cats in the house, it's never too peaceful or free of floating pet hair. This photo was taken at the bottom of the stairs, where Daphne, Daisy, Clover and Seamus were collected. Behind them, in the kitchen, were Fergus and, barely visible in the corner, Bugsy:

 The kitchen corner is and probably always will be the most popular spot in the house and the best place for photos (except that it's not well lit, even with the floor lamp). This collection is Rocky, Seamus, Fergus and Clover:

 When I go upstairs, I am preceded by Jack, Fergus, Daphne and Clover. They wait for me and for Seamus. Both of us are becoming rather slow in our old age:

 Seamus and Bramble in the farm house kitchen:

 Again in the kitchen corner: Daphne, Clover, Fergus and Rocky:

 Daisy, one of the cats who was dumped off at my barn. She became very ill and I struggled for months to save her. She seems healthy now except that her infected eye is still a bit misshapen and she sometimes rasps when she breathes. But she's active and happy and certainly gaining weight:

 A kitchen corner collection of Daphne, Bugsy, Clover, Rocky and Seamus, with Jack and Daisy nearby:

 Fergus and Clover on the bed I made out of a big laundry bag filled with pillows:

 Daphne, peeking out from behind a kitchen chair, with Bramble hiding back by the water bowl:

 Bugsy, the former kitten who was dumped at my barn along with Daisy. He's now a teenager, full of mischief and sometimes affectionate, sometimes not - but always playful:

 Daphne, Clover, Fergus, Seamus and Rocky:

 Seven out of ten pets: Daphne, Seamus, Clover, Bugsy, Rocky, Jack and Fergus. The only ones missing in this snapshot were Georgette, Daisy and Bramble:

Household Pets

I keep a baby gate at the foot of the stairs so the dogs can't go upstairs and get into things, but as soon as I open it, the four smaller pooches run to the top and form a welcoming committee:

Clover and Daphne somehow managed to twist their fleecy dog bed into a figure eight and then shared it, equally:

Rocky is hesitant about coming downstairs, doing so only cautiously, but he loves to sit on the stars and watch us pass by:

This is the first and only time I've seen Daphne atop Seamus. Usually it's Clover who does that:

I thought Georgette was coming downstairs and jumping up on the kitchen table for my company and that does seem to be part of her agenda, but I recently discovered she also has another goal in mind. She watches the activity outside the window at the bird feeders:

Jack, Fergus and Clover:

Two best friends, Bramble and Draco. I can see old age creeping into the shape of Draco's face. It used to be rounder and softer but now looks angular and reminds me that he is getting very old:

Bramble, Clover, Fergus, Daphne and Jack:

Now, here is the usual way it works - with Clover on top of Seamus:

Upstairs, the cats have four cat trees to choose from and I occasionally sprinkle them all with catnip. Rocky does look stoned here, doesn't he?:

A typical bedtime or nap time, with Jack under the bed. He comes out from under the bed after awhile and hops up with the other small dogs:

See? There's Jack. He's become an accepted member of the dog pack and family:

Buddies - Part 7

It's time once again for a loving look at some happy animals who have formed friendships. The first picture is of little Clover, resting comfortably atop big Seamus, her buddy:

And in the back yard, six of my seven dogs resting comfortably in the sun. The only dog missing from the picture is Madeline, and she was probably sitting at my feet as I snapped the photo:

Fergus, Wally and Seamus by a clump of spent Daffodils:

And little Winky, a little dog with a giant personality and a bit of an attitude:

In the living room, Draco was rolling around on Winky's backside - his way of showing affection. I expected Winky to grouch about it, but he seemed to enjoy it. Seamus just watched the goings on:

Clover and Fergus shared an afternoon nap:

Rick, my contractor friend, has been staying at my house while he fixes it up so I can sell it. You can see what happened when he tried to have his morning bowl of cereal. He had lots of buddies, a crowd of admirers:

And a big dog pile: Madeline, Daphne, Fergus, Seamus, Winky and Wally. Clover was in the other room:

Another scene from work:

And another shared nap, this time with Wally sound asleep:

Back seat buddies as we traveled up to the farm:

And the front seat buddies. I think they looked like they were singing:

Buddies 5

I love seeing my dogs and cats getting along and being friends, so I often grab my camera and snap a photo. This time, I found Bramble and Clover lounging together  on a big dog bed:

 And a big dog pile, with Daphne and Fergus totally wrapped up in their big, soft, furry buddy, Seamus. Madeline was close enough to touch the pile - but just barely. Little old Winky likes to be in the general area but doesn't go in for all that lovey dovey stuff:

And at work on Saturdays it is a regular event to see them all piled up together:

Another dog pile at home, with Fergus using Seamus' big leg as a sort of blanket:

And there's the trio from another angle:

Bramble and Clover are really buddies. Here they are on another dog bed:

Wally and Daphne:

Rocky and Clover:

And between the desks at work, they were working themselves into another dog pile:

Daphne couldn't quite get herself into the pile, so she stood and hung her head over Fergus' back. Little Madeline looked like she found the whole thing rather silly:

And again at home, all seven dogs together:

And one last buddy picture with which to end this post. Clover was on top of Seamus, who had his leg over Fergus while Daphne curled up nearby:

Buddies #5

I suppose that this photo of Georgette on the stairs is not really a "buddy" picture, but she's such a beautiful, sweet and gentle cat that I wanted a portrait of her. I suppose you could say that I am her buddy:

 These three Papillons are each others' buddies and also my front seat buddies on our journeys to and from the farm. They're also quite the adventurous little hikers:

 My five "bed buddies" at the farm house. Winky and Seamus sleep on the floor:

 The quintessential buddies: Daphne, Fergus and Seamus at home:

 Bramble and Snoozey are cat buddies:

 Oops, I guess this is another not-really-a-buddy photo. Rocky was lounging in the living room when I took this photo:

 Draco climbed up onto his new cat tree to snooze away from his buddies, the dogs. They seem to be looking up enviously, perhaps wishing that they too could climb up there:

 The famous dog pile at work. Fergus, Clover, Seamus and Daphne, all scrunched up together. I'm painting and fixing up my house to sell, which is the reason for the paint on Seamus' head. He likes to "help:"