Merle- 9 year old male.  I adopted him from a shelter in Rochester, NY, in 2002 while I was in college.

 

Thyme- 8 year old male.  I adopted him in 2003 to be Merle's pal, when I moved back home after college, so he is from a shelter in Delhi, NY.

 

Penny- 8-ish??? year old female.  Penny was a stray on my apartment porch in the middle of a freezing cold NY winter in 2004 and she was a feral cat who ate out of the dumpster and didn't like human contact, but would cry and cry outside my door at night, as she was literally freezing to death.  She eventually got ill enough and weak enough that I was able to snatch her up one afternoon.  I took her to the local shelter, but their intent was to put her down because she was seemingly unfriendly and barely alive.  So, I took her in.  She was on antibiotics for at least a year and tested repeatedly for feline leukemia and the like because she was just so sick, but she always tested negative.  She grows sweeter each year, but we still can't pick her up.  We can pet her, though, which is leaps and bounds from when she first came inside.  She appears to have some major vision problems in one eye, which probably contributes to her skittish nature.

 

 

Izzy- 2 1/2 year old female yellow lab mix.  We stopped at the Carteret County shelter one day in September 2008 and Izzy was there with her litter mates.  Izzy was just 5 weeks old.  We left, saying, "We can't, we have 3 cats already."  Ultimately, on the way home, Jay made the executive decision and did a u-turn to go back.  Izzy became ours. 

 

Quickly becoming aware of the pet plight in the area, we talked a lot about fostering another dog, but Jay deployed to Afghanistan in April of 2009 and I wasn't sure if I wanted to take on the challenge on my own.  Jay returned from Afghanistan in December of 2009 and we, again, discussed fostering.  As is typical of the Marines, he left for Haiti shortly thereafter in January of 2010.  I got brave, though, and fostered a border collie mix named Marsha, through Encore Pets out of Morehead City.  Marsha was still with us, when Jay returned from Haiti in April 2010.  When Marsha was adopted in mid-April, we took a small break and then took Saylor in as a foster from Encore Pets again.  Jay had been looking at Saylor on the Carteret County shelter website even before he returned home from Haiti.  It was never our intent to adopt Saylor, but we just couldn't part with her.  She is Izzy's very best friend and she has an old injury (broken femur) that makes her extra endearing.  She was in rough shape, relative to that hind leg, when we first got her, as that leg is shorter and all the muscle had atrophied from being in a kennel and not using her leg.  She is healthy and strong now :)  (and does too much jumping, as you saw first hand)

 

So, Saylor- 1 1/2 year old female black lab mix.  Adopted from the Carteret County shelter in Newport, NC by way of fostering through Encore Pets around May of 2010.

 

Sheena- she is a wonderful temporary member of our family.  She loves her 3 kitties and fits right in with the other two girl pups.  She is very well-mannered, loving, easy-going, and she is also a perfect size (around 40lbs or so).  She is an easy addition, as she is housebroken, crate trained, knows basic commands, and likes to please.  While we do not have children, she is certainly gentle and patient enough to join a family that does.  She could also easily co-exist with other pets of any nature, as she is not at all aggressive.  When she does find her forever home, Saylor will surely miss her new buddy and playmate!