BANDIT (AKA Stella, Sweet Pea)
Bandit the black lab was rescued from the Ozaukee Humane Society as an 8–9-week-old puppy. She steals anything she can (kitchen knives are her favorite), hence the name Bandit. She is a mega diva; the front seat in the car is always hers and she only wants to snuggle on her terms. She loves to hunt in the backyard and bring me her prizes while running as fast as she can (27 MPH to be exact). She is the only dog you will ever meet obsessed with M&M’s.
OAKLY (AKA Oak, Jellybean, Oakalini, Oakadoodle, Sprouts)
Oakly was rescued as a hairless 3-month-old puppy. She loves to snuggle and lick as much as possible. Oakly loves her sibling Divot the cat and being as weird and lazy as possible. When she is not being the world’s laziest border collie, she likes to dig holes all over the yard. Both Oakly and Bandit are being trained as therapy dogs.
DIVOT (AKA Bonjour, Meow Meow, Beans)
Divot was adopted from a friend, and she has the word “hi” marked on her fur. She loves to sit on your lap and sleep. Her newest obsession is trying to play with the butterflies we raise in our kitchen. We feed the birds for her entertainment when we are not home, and catnip puts her to sleep. She is trained to sit, come, turn around and fetch. We are working on “paw”. She enjoys eating all my house plants and anything in my greenhouse when the door is open.
KAHLUA STORMY (AKA Baby Cow)
She doesn’t know her size and is positively afraid of everything. Seriously.
(MISS) PARKER SOPHIA-MARIA
She knows she’s a diva and she knows she’d be worshipped in Ancient Egypt. She expects such treatment at all times. This is her house and we just live here.
JACK O’NEILL
Jack is the only boy in the house. Very chunky and dumb but very vocal. He suffers from a slight attitude problem, particularly around food or being picked up “the wrong way.”
LOUIS MYRA
Certainly, the youngest and the biggest daredevil. Always in trouble but absolutely adorable. 10/10
GIDGET LUCKY
She is the oldest of the group (and acts like it!) but repeatedly forgets this to play and talk back to us. We exist to serve her.
JACKSON
Jackson is our 15-year-old handsome boy, who loves water more than anything. He loves jumping into a running shower but didn’t love the time he fell in the toilet.
LENNY
Lenny is our 1-year-old silly kitten, whose favorite pastime in life is being petted. He enjoys pets mostly on his head, but tummy rubs never hurt either. His motto is, “idle hands should be used for petting.”
CLEO
We adopted our calico kitty, Cleo, from the Dane County Human Society four years ago, and in that time, she’s grown to the size of a bed pillow. She is the sweetest kitty, with a tender spirit, and a delicate meow. Her favorite pastime is cuddling up with anyone who will stay still long enough.
TEDDY
We adopted Teddy, our gray and white tuxedo, three years ago from Brown Paws Rescue. He enjoys making his voice heard when it comes to food demands, access to our basement for adventure, or pets. He is notorious for turning room lights on and off and opening doors. Both feats are accomplished by jumping up and using his paws like hands.
KATNISS
Katniss showed up in our garage as a hurt kitten. She is very persnickety and I’m lucky if I can pet her. She’s the kind of cat that will get involved to break up a dog fight!
POLLY
Our cat Polly was rescued from Tabby & Jacks in Stoughton. She was from an out of State rescue and she lived in a boarding house with many cats. She is super sweet.
SIMON
Simon was our neighbor’s cat who ended up living with us. He is a true mellow soul, a great therapy cat, and he loves to visit all the neighbors.
I am a huge supporter of Kadlec Ranch Rescue. They are a nonprofit cat rescue organization in Janesville.
DOKKEN (AKA Dok, Boabs, Wuppy)
After we cared for a friend’s French Bulldog about 10 years ago, we fell in love with the breed. This fawn-colored one we have had for 7 years and his name is Dokken (we didn’t name him, but he is named after the rock band Dokken). He will be 8 in May. He lost his eye last October due to an infection from what we think was a Katniss cat scratch. He is insanely entertaining and loves to be by my side.
TREASURE (AKA Ouija)
We rescued this black Frenchie from a lady who was using her to breed puppies. She has had 3 litters of puppies. She came to us with a cancerous tumor due to not being spayed. Luckily surgery removed it all and it hasn’t spread. She is a very gentle soul. Loves to go for car rides and is absolutely by my side 24/7.
Recently my husband started a t-shirt business, selling Frenchie-related T-shirts. We love the breed and can’t imagine life without them.
ROSIE
This is Rosie, our adopted 3-year-old mutt who came to us all the way from West Point, MS. We got her through Alive Rescue Memphis, a rescue working to save dogs from high kill shelters in the Deep South that buses dogs up north, including through Chicago and Madison. Rosie loves pizza crusts, long morning naps, and running around in the snow, as long as she has a jacket.
IZZY
Izzy is a rescue from Proverbs 12:10 animal rescue in Nashville, TN. She’s about 6 years old and loves being outside no matter the weather, playing tug of war, and must be touching at least one of her humans at all times. She also has an Instagram account, @izzy_whiz, documenting her fluffy, medium dog life.
BALOO
Baloo is my little old man. I adopted him while I was in college and he’s now nearly 17 years old. He’s often an ambassador for cats. People that say they hate cats will still fall for this one.
COOPER (AKA Coop, Coopster, The Sooper Cooper)
Cooper is a Golden! He’s always game for snuggles, throwing a stick, and is always, always carrying something in his mouth. He’s about to turn 4 years old.
PRINCESS BUTTERCUP (AKA PB, Baby Girl)
PB is our newest addition, an English Bulldog mix, and she is about 8 ½ months old. She was a surprise adoption after our vet called and asked if we would take her in. She is such a happy, loveable, funny little girl! Melissa Pletzer (another Strang’r) adopted her littermate (Maverick) when I found out that there was another puppy that needed a home. They attend doggy daycare together, so they still get to see each other. To this day they are like peas & carrots.
RUBY LEIGH PHILLIPS (AKA Ruby, RooRoo)
Ruby is 9 years old and loves to sleep, eat treats, ride in the car, and go on walks. She is a Black Mouth Cur/Lab Mix. She’s always been an old soul, never a puppy. She’s had TTA surgeries in both knees! Ruby was rescued in 2012 from a kill shelter in North Carolina. We met online through Puppy Love Rescue.
NEWTON (AKA Poop-Poop, Shtookie, Sir Isaac Noodles, Noodles, Good-Dawg, Newt)
Newton is a border collie rescue. He’s about 6 years old. We got him when he was 7 months from a no-kill shelter in Amelia, Ohio. He’s my forever best friend and constant companion.
