Love Your Pet Day

I know, right.  Who needs a special day to love a face like that?

Over the years, we have had two four-legged members of our family, as well as a few aquatic ones. 
 
Our first goldfish, Michael Flatly (named after the Irish-American step dancer) for reasons that are fully explained by this -
 

resided with us for what we thought was a lengthy amount of time for a  goldfish - more than 3 years.  He was succeeded by Jenna - named after the Season 6 winner of the Survivor series.  What can I say?  We have a thing for pop culture. Jenna lived up to her namesake - surviving almost as long as Michael Flatly.  Finally, Omega the Beta lived with us several years.  A gift from a classmate to my son,  I loved that Omega seemed to flourish the more we ignored him.  He was the last of our friends with gills.

Our canine companions are another story.

Libby, a sweet rescue dog, joined our family almost 10  years ago.  She is now deaf and does not see well. She has always been more like a cat than a dog and through the years she put up with a lot, including this -  

and more of this -

To our minds, she is what every pet owner would want - sweet and easy-going. 

The most recent addition to our household, Brownie (her name deserves it's own post), has a quirky (and needy) but funny little personality.

We especially get a kick out of Brownie sleeping on the ottoman in our den - 

Recently, my sister called to my attention how much Brownie looks like Fluffy, the toy dog I received for Christmas when I was two.  

That's Brownie on the left. 

Coincidence?  I think not.

Brownie loves attention and, though she is slow to warm up, once she's your friend you'll have a hard time shaking her.

Brownie and my sister's sweet cat, Gus, take a nap.