Happy Housepets At Home

Ready for more pet pictures? Maybe I should call them family photos. This first one is of all five dogs (Clover, Fergus, Daphne, Jack and Seamus) plus Caspar the cat. Notice the baby gate in the window, which I use to protect the window screens:

Caspar and Sammy: "Just keep walking, there's nothing to see here:"

Daphne, Fergus and Clover on the big, soft, green floor pillow:

Daisy meowing in one of the many pet beds:

Fergus, Daphne, Clover and Jack. Both Fergus and Jack are wearing absorbent belly bands to prevent peeing in the house:

Bugsy, Sammy and Caspar on one of the yoga mats I put down to help Seamus walk without slipping and falling:

Looking into the kitchen: Fergus, Daphne, Clover and Seamus:

Daphne, Fergus, Daisy and Seamus:

Sammy and Bugsy used to cuddle all the time, but now that they are getting older, they do it less often. It's still cute, though:

Speaking of cuddling, Seamus and Fergus do it also:

Clover and Daphne often have to share the morning dog food with all four cats. Fergus, Jack and Seamus were eating out of other dog bowls. I put down many bowls so there is no fighting and nobody goes hungry:

House Pets At Their Leisure

If you regularly read this blog, you may think my five dogs are constantly out hiking or running across hay fields. The truth is that they are lazy house dogs, happy to sleep most of every day away in comfort. You may notice that Fergus and Jack are both wearing absorbent belly-belts because they began peeing in the house again:

And the four cats never leave the house, staying indoors where they are safe from predators, cars, weather and disease. All once abandoned animals, I take pride in giving them new lives of ease. This is daisy, eating from one of two automatic feeders:

Fergus, Clover and Bugsy. It's difficult to get a photo of Bugsy because he's black, and I try to be sure his yellow eyes are open so at least something shows:

The favorite spot is the kitchen corner, in this case containing Daphne, Clover, Fergus and Bugsy (no eyes showing this time):

Two dogs and two cats: Fergus, Clover, Bugsy and Caspar:

Seamus is so gigantic that he has trouble fitting anywhere, so he prefers the big yoga mats which I purchased to keep him from falling on the slippery floor. In the background are Jack, Caspar and Clover:

Daphne and Fergus, showing two clearly different shades of "white:"

The other favorite spot is the ramp which leads down into their fenced yard. Fergus, Daphne, Jack and Seamus were lounging there. Seamus knows that he can stand up with less struggle by heading downhill on the ramp, then turning around and walking back up:

Four on a pillow: Jack, Fergus, Daphne and Clover:

The joys of having a kitten or two in the house. This curtain is a favorite toy, and there's no sense replacing it until the kittens have slowed down:

And the window blinds have suffered a similar fate. Caspar is particularly fond of them:

Three of the four cats in the kitchen (Bugsy was missing in this photo) - Caspar, Sammy and Daisy:

Pets At Home

Bugsy is a quiet character, and spends most of his time napping or silently contemplating the mysteries of me and the other animals in his life:

And the little dogs still collect on the pet beds and floor pillows in the kitchen corner. Seamus doesn't often join them there anymore:

Instead of joining the little dogs in the kitchen, Seamus usually hangs out in the computer room. He used to lie on the yoga mats, but is increasingly likely to just stretch out on the hard floor. Besides being less comfortable for him, it also makes it more difficult for him to stand up:

Daisy likes the cat beds atop the furniture so she can relax and keep an eye on us at the same time. She is also positioned to be petted whenever I walk by:

Bugsy likes to join the dogs on the big, green floor pillow. Notice that Fergus is wearing his absorbent belly-band. He and Jack started peeing in the house again, so I got out the belly-bands:

Daisy and Jack watched me in the kitchen:

Another kitchen corner collection: Bugsy, Caspar, Daphne, Clover and Fergus:

It's been a hot summer so far, so Jack dug himself a hole in the roots of a small maple tree. He gets plenty of shade plus the cool earth surrounds him:

The dogs love their ramp, partly because it gives them a good view of the town road, but also because the Rugosa roses offer shade:

Seamus likes to nap under the maple tree with Jack, but he also lies down in the shaded, soft grass next to the fence:

This was supposed to be a flower picture, but when I saw Fergus in the background, I decided to make it a pet picture instead. Two of my favorite things, dogs and flowers:

Update On The Pets

Seamus' back legs are still weak, but he's improved a bit since I last posted about him. His favorite spot to nap is the yoga mat by my computer chair:

 And sometimes, when the dogs are outdoors, I give treats to the four cats. It's helped a lot, along with chasing the laser pointer, in taming Sammy:

 All five dogs posed for a photo on their beloved ramp:

 Ruby got her toenails clipped:

And so did fat Meghan:

 Fergus and Seamus watched me through the fence as I mowed the lawn. You can see the tall grass along the fence line which I began cutting for the horses, a treat I had to discontinue:

 Caspar and Clover. This pose convinced me that Caspar has not been missing any meals:

 Early in the morning, before dawn, in the kitchen corner: Clover, Fergus, Bugsy, Caspar and Sammy:

Daphne, Daisy and Seamus on the yoga mat by my computer desk:

 Little Jack:

 Just home from a hike, Fergus and Seamus were still wearing their bandanas:

 Clover, Daphne and Jack had big smiles after their hike:

Pets At Home

The house pets have been happy at home - and totally relaxed, as Caspar and Bugsy demonstrate here:

 Seamus is aging and his back legs are giving him more trouble. He finds it difficult to stand or maneuver stairs. And of course the reason for the yoga mats is to help him walk without slipping:

 Jack is still not totally housebroken, and I suppose he will always need to wear his belly band when I leave the house. But he is happy and totally sweet:

 Each morning the dogs and cats help themselves to dog food and water. In this case it was Clover, Bugsy, Sammy and Daphne. They never argue:

One morning I scrambled more eggs for them, putting it atop the dry dog food. Most of it was not eaten, but removed from the bowls and left on the floor for me to clean up. Later in the day, Jack got sick. I've learned my lesson now and will no longer feed eggs to the dogs or cats:

 But life is good, as when the dogs sunned themselves on their ramp while the aroma of apple blossoms drifted across the yard from the apple grove:

 And they love to keep me company when I'm at the computer. In this case it was Daphne, Seamus, Fergus and Jack:

 Little Caspar isn't so little anymore but he sure is sweet:

Fergus, Daphne and Clover:

 Sammy:

 Seamus and Bugsy:

 Each night before bed, I let the cats chase the laser pointer, running them in big circles around the stairwell. They get so wild that they're knocking paint off the walls. They sure look forward to it, though: