Well hello everyone. I have been a pet lover all my life. In fact it was our Dobermans who brought my husband & I together. We met at work and he had a Dobie and I had a Dobie and well, we'd get together to let "the girls" play! Those play dates became our dates and we just celebrated 30 yrs of marriage last month and in those 30 yrs we have never been without a pet of some kind.

One day my hubby was driving home from work and saw a raccoon in the middle of the road that was hit by a car. When he drove past it, he saw something small moving around on top of it. Yep it was the baby raccoon.Well there was only one thing to do. Scoop it up and take it home!!! So one summer we raised a baby raccoon. Our Dobie at the time quickly took over the role as it's mother. With four cats in the house to play with and a Dobie for a mom, that little raccoon grew up to be one happy camper. The raccoon ended up being adopted by some friends who lived way back in the country and he led a natural raccoon life out in the woods, stopping by to visit his family every once in while.

Then there was the time my hubby cut down a big pine tree for someone and at the very top of the tree was a nest of baby squirrels. Who knew??? Except the mother squirrel which took off and never came back. Anyway, in the nest were three newborn squirrels. So we became parents again. No one thought these squirrels would live because of how young they were. They still had the umbilical cords sticking out of there little bellies. Well we took a crash course on hand raising squirrels. The two males didn't make it, but the third one was one very tough little girl. Talk about a house full of fun!! She had the four cats to play with and of course "momma" Dobie was on duty again. Amazing how animals accept one another and take care of one another, no matter what species they are. After all, a baby is a baby, and all my critters wanted to be the mom!! That little squirrel would sleep on my calico's tummy, right after a thorough bath from Dobie mom! Did you know that a baby squirrel can climb from your shoe right to the top of your head in .02 seconds? As you can imagine, a house in town was no place for a squirrel either, so once again we were looking to find just the right environment for our little one (who was now almost full sized) to live out a natural life. We found a wildlife reserve that was only an hours drive away. We called and they said our squirrel would be a welcome addition to their woodland community of rescued wildlife. Once again a happy ending for one of our little rescues.

A few years later, two of our kitties and the last of our Dobies had left us for Rainbow Bridge and our house was way too quiet. Then out of the blue, we came across a Shetland Sheepdog that needed rescued.

He was crated day & night and didn't even know his own name. He had no focus what so ever, and when he finally got out of that awful crate, he would run in circles non stop until he couldn't go any more. We were asked to "doggie sit" for a while and we just couldn't give this beautiful Sheltie back to those people. So we adopted Riley! That's the name  we gave him. After a trip to the vet, we were told Riley would be a challenge for us because he would be very slow to learn anything if he could learn at all! Well that was enough incentive for us. We know LOVE conquers ALL!! Today, Riley starts his day by getting the morning paper and bringing it inside for us. At noon he walks me to the mailbox so he can carry in the mail. Riley also helps carry in groceries from the car and visits nursing homes to make lots of people smile!! He is the perfect gentleman at all times. Riley knows all the obedience commands by hand signals too. (And they said he couldn't learn anything) HA!! Riley sure showed them!

We also have Chipper, a long coat Chihuahua, who is quite the character, and Phantom, an Albino Corn Snake! Now don't think Phantom is isolated from everyone. He lives right in our living room and comes out to be held all the time and loves taking a "slither" through Riley's fur! And of course, our Riley doesn't mind a bit! Our last kitty, Maggie, left us last year at the age of 20! Riley & Chipper miss her as they were all sleeping buddies, (in our bed of course). Riley & Chipper joined the Dog Channel network a few years ago and since then, we've met the most awesome, loving people (in person) from all over the USA and Canada.  All through our beloved pets! They truly are amazing and share a very special place in our hearts.

So there you have it. 30 fun filled years of sharing life with the animal kingdom and loving every minute of it.

Pawsitively yours,

JulieCarr

Riley's FaceBook

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REMEMBER: Doggy Tales is Reader Contributed! If you have, or have had, a furry, finned, or feathered friend you were fortunate enough to share your life with, we want to hear about it! Contact Miss Mae via the email on the Profile Page and your article will be featured in a future Monday segment.