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6
PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE
MAY 2013
exercise because of their small stature. A
small fenced yard or a walk in the park is
enough. Abby is my little princess pea and
sometimes, has an attitude about it. She pre-
fers to sit on the pillow on the couch next to
me. Sawyer is my little man. He prefers to sit
on my lap and chew his favorite bone, while
looking out the window.
I can’t imagine my life without these little
guys.”
Nadine Zook, graphic design
Meet Bleeker. He’s half Chihuahua and
half Jack Russell Terrier. He is 18 months
old. I did not choose him. He is another hand-
me-down pet from my daughter. She has a
penchant for adopting unwanted animals
while ignoring the fact that she lives in a
non-pet-friendly apartment and is rarely
home.
Bleeker is very self-confident and he
thinks that everyone likes him.
I know this because he escapes the fenced
yard on a regular basis and visits all the
neighbors. He makes his way around the cul-
de-sac throwing his little body against their
doors until someone opens up.
Some neighbors find him amusing, but
most do not. Sometimes, he finds a partially
open sliding glass door at one of the unsus-
pecting neighbor’s houses and he walks in,
headed directly to the kitchen where he
looks up at the person living there as if to
say, “Well, why haven’t you fed me yet?”
Bleeker also loves to go “bye-bye” and un-
fortunately, he doesn’t discriminate with
whom he chooses to ride with.
Any open car door is an invitation to the
over-confident Bleeker. He jumps right in
and makes himself at home on the passenger
seat while looking expectantly at his poten-
tial chauffeur.
Some neighbors patiently bring him home
to us, while others have threatened to call
animal control on him.
I must confess that there are times when I
wanted to call animal control on him, right
about the time I found my 12th pair of shoes
shredded in seconds flat by his razor sharp
teeth.
But then he looks up at me with his lip
stuck on his snaggle tooth and I can’t help
but laugh.
Mara Stine, Outlook reporter/associate
editor
We didn’t plan to get them. I wanted an
orange boy cat. Troy wanted a black one.
It was just a few months after we bought
our first house in early 2002, and we agreed
to get a cat. But once we got to the Troutdale
animal shelter, we noticed a little girl peer-
ing into a cage containing two kittens. The
tag on the door said they were litter mates
who’d been abandoned at the Cherry Park
Safeway.
Taking home two tabbies was not the plan.
Troy didn’t think I’d go for it. I didn’t think
Troy would go for it. The result was the fol-
lowing exchange:
Mara: Wow, they sure are cute.
(Cue volunteer who opens cage, hands one
kitten to me and one to Troy. Mine buries its
little face into the crook of my arm, while
Troy’s sinks its claws into his shirt and won’t
let go.)
Troy: This one doesn’t want to let me go.
What if someone only wanted to adopt one of
them?
Mara: That would be terrible.
Troy: Awful.
Mara: They can’t be separated. Not after
all they’ve been through.
Troy: All they have in the world is each
other.
Mara: With them being litter mates, they
already know each other and obviously get
along.
Troy: That’s true. And they could play
with each other while we’re at work.
(Pregnant pause).
Troy: Maybe we should adopt them.
Mara: Maybe we should.
Troy: I think we should.
Mara: Good idea. Let’s do it.
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From page 5
OUR PETS:
Nadine Zook and Bleeker
Ayla Ballew, daughter of Mara Stine, with Tiger.
See OUR PETS / Page 7