April 2012 – THE “Z” ‘s CRITTERS

Their dad, Rod, shares the story of these three sweet members of the GPP family:

Annie, Samson and Lily:  these three wonderful creatures are such a fun and vital part of our family.  Annie and Samson are both AKC registered Shetland Sheepdogs. We decided on Shelties after losing our beloved Great Pyrenees “Saba,” thirteen years ago.  After viewing many breeds at dog shows, we chose the Sheltie and started looking for breeders and their pups.  We fell in love with Annie at first sight and almost ended up buying a second that very night, as the breeder offered us a deal.  Little did we know then, that just little over a year later, we would return to that breeder to buy our second Sheltie (Samson) as a companion for our first, Annie.  Annie and Samson have the same father, a Sheltie with the great name of “Chance.”

Annie is now 13 and has had so many medical issues in her life, but she is a trooper and perseveres through all her many ailments.  She has failing eyesight, has gone almost totally deaf, has arthritic rear joint problems—yet she still enjoys life and shows resilience and passion when not snoozing.  Samson is almost 11 and we are fond of calling him “Mr. Excitement” since he can get really wound up.  Shelties are truly amazing dogs, learning quickly and wanting to please their owners.  Both of our Shelties won their obedience classes as pups and finished first and second in their first Agility Competition.  They are truly amazing athletes and beat out the likes of Labs and Setters and all other comers in our class of nearly twenty dogs, including one other Sheltie.

The latest addition to the family is Lily.  She is the most loveable, sweetest cat you could find.  And find her we did at the Dearborn Animal Shelter.  We had just lost our cat, Molly, at the tender age of 22.  But just like falling off the bike, we got right back up and on.  She instantly became friends with the dogs and continues to find new, fun places to watch the birds, squirrels, etc. outside in the yards from many different perches in the house or take a nap in the sun after a hard day of critter watching.

Our pets truly love their sitters from Gentle Pet Protectors.  In fact, they have named them Aunts Claudia and Beth.  It is such a comfort to be away from them and know that they and our house are in such capable and reliable hands of people who love our pets as much as we do.  Highly recommend GPP!

Sitter Claudia writes,  “It has been such fun taking care of these smart and funny pets.  It didn’t take Annie & Samson long to discover that a visit from me means treats.  Their favorite game is “Find It”, where I make them sit in one room while I hide little crackers throughout another room.  When I yell “Find It”, they come running as fast as they can and it doesn’t take them long to search out every last cracker.  I think I enjoy it more than they do.   Lily is such a funny cat, she keeps me entertained when I visit.  She is also very vocal about mealtimes, and I think she watches the clock and lets me know if I’m running late in putting out her favorite food.”

Sadly for us at GPP, the “Z” family  (Rod & Bonnie, Annie, Samson and Lily) will be leaving us soon when they relocate to St. Louis for Rod’s new job.   We will miss them a lot and wish them all the best as they embark on this exciting new adventure.