My Cast of Characters - The Animals

While sitting here feeling sorry for myself because I'm not in Salt Lake City at the center of the stamping universe this week, I realized that I organized this post way back in May but never finished it.

So, after introducing you to my human cast of characters, I've pulled this out of the draft pile, shaken off the moth balls and will now introduce you to the four-legged crew that roams this place of ours.

This is Nadia.

Correction: this is Nadia about 10 minutes after arriving at our place and enjoy what was quite possibly the first ever pile of hay in a clean stall she had ever had. She was roughly six months old when she came to us. The Peanut named her after Nadia Comaneci...of course. What else does a little gymnast name her horse? I'm sure Ms. Comaneci is very flattered. She (the horse) has been here for almost two years now and is no longer this skinny, though still on the small side. We love her to death and I'm starting her ground training this summer.


Then there's Classy.

Classy is MY baby. She is the horse that brought me back into the equine world and I am ever so grateful. I've learned how to train on a whole new level with Classy. We've learned together and she is the perfect training partner. She is the Trigger to my Roy Rogers. Oh, how I love this horse.

We've got a bunch of smaller furry creatures around here too. This is Oliver.

As you can tell, Oliver has quite the personality. He was the first pet that we got as a family. He was a five month old kitten at the time. Now, he's ten and has burned through most of his lives. His age is starting to show...but he still sticks his tongue out when he sleeps.


This is a very sad picture. This is Jazz.

Jazz was the sweetest little Hemingway cat in the universe. About four years ago he just showed up in our barn. After a few weeks he got the nerve to venture up to the house and decided he was home. We called him the Bean Bag kitty because, when you picked him up, he would go totally limp. Unfortunately, on Father's Day last month he took a nap right behind the wheel of our car and Maverick didn't see him when he was leaving. I should probably take his picture out of this post but I can't seem to do it. We miss the little fur ball.


When my son (aka the Calm) was 12 he wanted a rabbit SO bad. Not for the normal reasons a child might want a pet, to love and play with. No he wanted a rabbit just so he could name him:
Mr. Scruffims. And I gotta be honest with you here. The name fits.

Last, but never ever least (in fact, he will tell you that he is the closest thing to a people animal we've got around here) is the newest addition to our little menagerie:
This is Mario. Mario Kart Brown to be exact. While working a booth for our family business last summer, a volunteer from the Humane Society was walking the event with Mario who had a little jacket on that said "Adopt me". He went straight up to Maverick and put his head in his lap. The next thing I knew I got a text message, not from one of my kids but from my husband, saying "can I have a dog". We picked him up from the shelter the next day and he wasted no time making himself right at home.

So there ya go, our family zoo. There have been other animals along the way, a couple hamsters, another cat, the occasional fish, but this is our brood as we exist today. Everyone is a rescue and everyone just sorta. . . fits.