[UTANRO]

The dogs...

Bo - stray/dumped ex-hunting dog

Katie - adopted from a local rescue group

Sam - stray

Emmy - stray

Gage - adopted at 12 weeks old from a parking lot. BYB was giving him away free because she thought he was too ugly.

Rosie, Callie, and Gracie - taken in after they were retired from a puppymill as breeder females.

Caeli - I took her in after her owners finally decided they didn't want her anymore. She was a puppymill breeder female, then adopted out to a home that continued to breed her, left her tied to a tree, allowed her to get heartworms, and then got angry at her and slammed her against a shed one night, crushing her ankle in the process.

Mattie - taken in after he was retired from a puppymill as a breeder male (who breeds a blind and deaf dog for 12 years? *sigh*)

Annie - she was rescued by the animal control from a hoarding bust. She was supposed to be fostered by me through one of my rescue groups but she became a permanent resident.

Audubon - adopted from a local rescue group as a puppy almost 9 years ago.

Jake - I took him in when I was working at a vet clinic. A client came in to have him euthanized because she was retiring, looking to take vacations, and "didn't have time for the dog."

Triumph - I took him in when I was working at a (different) vet clinic. A client came in with him, and he was almost completely dead. He'd been found on side of the highway in a ditch, starved and shot through the neck. He spent almost a month at the clinic, where I was caring for him, as I was the vet tech. By the time he was ready to be released from the hospital, I was hooked, and adopted him.

Lily - adopted from the SPCA. I was supposed to be fostering her for them but you know how that goes...

The cat...

Socks was a stray that wandered up about... 14 years ago, and never left. He kind of adopted us.

The fish...

Tofu is my betta fish. I wasn't looking for a betta fish, but I was at a local mom and pop type pet store, spotted him and fell in love.

The turtle...

Squirt is my red eared slider turtle. I found a Craigslist ad that simply stated, baby turtle with tank. So I e-mailed her, and found out that she had no idea how to take care of a turtle. He had no heater, no filter, no heat lamps, no UVB lamps, no nothing. Just a small tank with some driveway gravel and about an inch of water. She sent me a photo of him, I was instantly hooked, and I drove a 3 hour round-trip the next morning to meet her to pick up Squirt.