Monday, March 17, 2008

Our Other Children

I don't really talk about my other kiddos on this blog too much, but we do have 2 furry children that we count as part of the family. A friend of mine asked to see pictures of Jaq, so I thought I would dedicate a post just to our furry little ones.
















Here's a picture of Gus, our first born. We got Gus just a month after we got married while we were living in Tyler, I was finishing my last year of graduate school and Jes was working nights. We bought Gus from a pet shop in Tyler where they told us that he was just 6 weeks old. He was very small and we noticed that he had fleas so we just treated him like any other pet we had had and tended to him. Our first vet appointment a few days later gave us quite the surprise. Gus was actually closer to 5 months old and had every bug and parasite known to a cat. We were furious at the people at the shop where we got him, but we had fallen in love with Gus and nursed him back to health. I think he knew exactly what was going on and bonded to us immediately and is our baby.
We initally got Gus as company for me during the long nights as I have always been quite the chicken at night. Turns out, Gus was Jes's cat for the longest time and would have little to nothing to do with me, unless he was needing to be fed. Lately, Gus and Caleb have been inseparable. We used to have many moments where we worried about Caleb with Gus around as he can be quite territorial, but instead, Gus has adopted Caleb as his own. They love on each other and they even sleep in the same bed now too. It's really very sweet.

















Our other furry child is Jaq. We got him last summer, I think it was late July. His mom, a full blooded Golden Retriever, wandered into the hanger Jes worked at, pregnant and needing medical care. One of the ladies took her home and Jaq was born shortly thereafter, along with 9 other brothers and sisters. We couldn't tell if and what Jaq was a mix of so we decided to take our chances and see what he would grow up to look like. Come to find out, Jaq is a mix of Golden Retriever and Great Pyranees (don't quote me on that spelling). He is a very active, sweet, big dog and Caleb just loves him. We are almost past the puppy stage, so Jaq is starting to calm down a bit and we are getting to the good parts of having a dog.






Remember when he looked like this? This is back before we knew what breed mix he was. He was just so cute and furry, even if he did pee on my floors! Jaq is a very bright dog and obeys a few simple commands. He will stop and sit when told and even listens to Caleb when he tells him to. Maybe he knows that he's Caleb's dog...
















Caleb and Jaq love playing together outside. He is most definitely an outside dog too. Even when we had temperatures in the teens and 20s and we would want to bring him inside during the night, we would have to practically drag him in. The weather just doesn't bother him. We'll have to see how he does in the heat this summer. That will probably be the deal breaker for him.

















This isn't the best picture, but it shows Jaq in his normal way, perpetually moving. He is a very active dog and we have recently discovered that walks are the way to tire him out. He runs the backyard all day long, but when made to walk, not run, it really wears him out. When he gets home from his walks, he just collapses and falls right to sleep. Now if only we could get Caleb to do that!



















Jaq in a rare moment of stillness. It took me forever to get this picture and it's not the best, but it's my youngest child in all his glory.

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