Meet Jolene.

Jolene is a Queensland Blue Heeler that works cattle here on a ranch in Texas. She’s VERY much in ♥ with my husband who takes her out to gather anywhere from 1 cow to a herd of 150 head. She does voice command and hand signals. When my husband heads out horseback Jolene will run alongside them and at times circle them, eager to be told where to go. When we first got Jolene she was the runt of the litter at 4lbs! Now she is a stocky 40 lbs and…she is being bred right now to another Blue Heeler (HOSS) at a neighboring ranch! I guess I’ll have to get a new tag that reads WORKING MOM!

*VOTE FOR JOLENE TIGERJAWS!*

Tagline:  Working Girl

This is Izzi.

Her tagline is “Squeak and Destroy” because she has destroyed many things since becoming a part of our family, shoes, ball caps, glasses, two sets of retainers, two iPod charges, two phone chargers, two electric blankets and the list goes on.  She has not yet met a squeaker toy that she can’t destroy, even the ones that say they keep squeaking AFTER being punctured.  Don’t let that little angelic face fool you, she is 11 pounds of destruction!  Please vote for Izzi, she LOVES her fetching tags bling!

Tagline:  Squeak & Destroy

This is Luca.

He’s a funny little dog with some obsessive-compulsive tendencies- it’s not unusual for him to spend ten minutes finding the perfect spot to hide his bone and another ten making sure the placement is just so.  He loves to wrestle with his cats and his “cousin” harvey, and recently spent five minutes play bowing to a skunk he had cornered WITHOUT GETTING SPRAYED.

He answers to Luca, Yuka Face Stink-a-Poo, Rukie, Puka, Stink Face,  piglet… actually, he comes running no matter what you call him, but he’s still a stubborn little bulldog… when we say he’s “all ears” it doesn’t mean he’s actually listening.

Tagline:  I’m All Ears!

Meet Enzo.

Enzo is a 3 year old chocolate Labradork. She loves life, as all Labradors do, and goes about each and every day with such enthusiasm that it never fails to make me smile. Work five days a week? Absolutely!! She gets up every day whether it’s five in the morning or noon, ready to take on whatever life throws at her.

We always thought that she’d settle down a bit when she hit two and a half to three, start calming down, stop making wookie noises at old ladys in Petsmart, the googoo eyes at little boys with sticky fingers, and quit dancing so violently when someone comes over to say “Hi”.

So far though, she hasn’t recieved her brain in the mail, and I’m considering writing the manufacturer, because it doesn’t seem like she’ll EVER calm herself down. She goes to work with me four to five days a week, 5 to 7 hours at a time, and will still come home and run laps around the yard.

She is my shadow, and it’s hard to get far enough away from her to take a good picture, unless, of course, she decides another lap around the yard would be fun. We actually named her Enzo, after Enzo Ferrari, because of the dirt track she put in around our yard. Perfect twists and turns, and straightaways for her to put on the afterburners and leave the other three dogs in the dust. She perpetually wears a crazy wild eyed look on her face that also makes getting family Christmas pictures a bit of a problem.

Tagline:  Meth Lab

Meet Fiona.

Fiona is 5 yrs old, and loves to lick. The couch, the cats, your sweatshirt, whatever.

She lives with her Bull Terrier/pit bull mix sister, Stella, and four cats… all of whom she has dominion over.

Won’t hesitate to smack talk if you if she thinks you’re out of line (which is quite frequently I’ve found).

Owns her own store & Snores like the dickens.

Tagline:  Live, Love, Lick.

Meet Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix Rondo.

Born September 11th, 2010.  Named after a NBA basketball player.

He may be tiny, but this ittle guy is FULL of energy.  Cuddling is his favorite thing to do, and he loves posing for pictures!

It’s RONDO TIME!

Tagline:  Turdinator

Timmy retired from racing with a hock injury before he turned 2. He was an extremely shy hound who took a long time to warm up to people. I went to meet him at his first meet and greet and it was love at first sight for both of us. Not long after that he came home with me.

Timmy and I were immediately bonded but he took over a year to feel comfortable with my husband and anyone else that came over. I’ve been called his security blanket. He is a completely different dog when I am with him. He is playful, outgoing, confident, and happy with me. Away from me he is extremely reserved and spooky. The real winner in our relationship is me. He is my rock.

Timmy is so in tune to my emotions that he’s almost like a living mood ring. He sleeps with his head on my chest. If I am sitting he is flopped across my lap or snuggled up with me. He follows my every step. He always knows when I need a Greyhound hug or a big ole’ kiss on the cheek. He truly is my best friend and he carries my heart.

Tagline:  I Carry Your Heart

(from the e.e. cummings poem of the same name)

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

Meet Fred,

a humble seeker of love and kindness.

Acutely aware of change, he is many times nervous.  But, not always.

Born a gypsy in the Carolina mountains, he was found and rescued and currently lives serenely happy on the river.

Tagline:  Captain Concerned