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Our Pets |
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I
have been an animal lover all my life. If someone asked me what I wanted
to do when I grew up I would tell them "I want to live in the San Diego
Zoo!" I came close and for about 10 years did have to opportunity to
work with big cats.
I and my husband do have some pets and probably would have more if we
didn't live in an apartment. That's probably a good thing!
Below
are some pictures and information about our current menagerie.
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Below is Citrino who adopted us April of 2007. It was a two week hard hitting campaign to convinve us he already lived with us and we finally came to our senses and faced the inevitable. It's taken alittle getting used to a younger more energetic feline in the house but his antics just endear him even more to us. We discovered that he can open any inside door in our home, and usually only plays with the closed closet door if he wants to play and you ignore him. He also loves ambushing any feet that are walking by the bed. You walk by and suddenly you feel these paws gently tapping your feet in swift staccato whacks and the POOF! the attack is over and there's no one there. It's like having a mini Rambo in the house! |
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 Citrino (also known as the BOC) Big Orange Cat! |
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| Introducing Carly The Bengal Cat! | |
| We wish to thank Michelle of Tribal Bengals for letting us adopt this beautiful girl! She is a 2+yr old spayed Bengal cat and has been a total joy to have share our home. After a week of careful supervised introductions She and Citrino are best buddies. I knew Citrino was a big cat but now having Carly to compare him to he really is a "BIG Cat!" Now our boy has someone who can not only keep up with his playful antics but improvise, and give him a run for his money! She may be half his size but makes up for it in sheer energy and enthusiasm! Despite her Asian Leopard cat ancestor being quite a few generations back she really has alot of the natural strength, coat type, and intelligence of the big cats and brings back to me all the fondest memories of having worked so many years with them. (See Working With Big Cats) | |
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| Many years ago I purchased an African Gray parrot that was not hand-raised. Not a smart move for your first bird. I felt he needed to be in a more experienced home and found one for him. I knew that I would some day get another parrot. In 1995 I acquired a young hand-raised Sunday (hybrid Sun/Janday) Conure parrot that my son named El Fuego. His name "The Fire" truly matches his coloring and personality. He's very playful and friendly but not much of a talker. He is about the size of a cockatiel but has a much bigger beak and great dark eyes. His cage is behind me when I am at my computer. He's not real fond of things moving on the screen. Makes him screech and holler! Such a movie critic! After twelve years |  El Fuego (or La Fuega I guess) 12 years old in 2006 |
of thinking we had a male bird our guy became rather moody and began some strange behavior. Low and Behold he started to lay eggs! El Fuego is really La Fuega! We read up on what was the best thing to do in such a situation and the opinions varied so much we chose to do what we felt worked best for out little friend. Mainly keep her well nourished and decrease the hours of light she was being exposed to. After she was done laying and the eggs gone she settled back down to normal behavior. |
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I also like reptiles and currently have a beautiful cornsnake (pictured right) that I raised from about a 12" in length back in 1993 to his current size of almost five feet. I even brought him to the local college I was attending to film for part of an upcoming video short project. When I worked with the big cats I also took care of three 11' foot pythons. Since then I have a new rule..I don't take care of any snakes that are longer then I am tall! (and I'm only 5'4") HIs tank has always been next to the birds cage behind so they are quite used to each other. Besides he prefers mice. He sheds his skin quite often so he must be eating well. Time to get the old measuring stick out again and see for sure. |
 SWNN 13 years old in 2006 |
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