Happy First Adoption Day to Our Adorable Roary!!

 It is so hard to believe our adorable "marshmallow boy" Roary has been with us an entire year!!! It's time to celebrate!!!  I had introduced you to Roary quite some time ago and for this post there will be a mix of his intro post and some new things! Hope you enjoy!

A year ago, I believe in  August I thought I might be up for adding a kitty to our family again, I wasn't sure, but I subscribed to a number of sites and figured if it was meant to be it would be. One day after meeting two other cats that were instantly obvious they were NOT the right ones, I saw this:

Yes, Roary began his life as a "Felix!" I saw this face and instantly fell in love. I decided to send Lenny to PetSmart to check him out in his cage first, just to see if he was friendly. Lenny came home with a great report, "Felix" held his paw out to Lenny and proceeded to work his way into his heart. I promptly filled out an application, they checked my references and an appointment was made to meet "Felix" on September 21, 2020.

The rest is history! "Felix" instantly was named Roary, (after the Detroit Lions mascot), and we promptly adopted him. Roary was born June 10, 2020. He was a little over 3 months old when he joined our family. What strikes me as strange is Dakota was diagnosed with cancer on June 8th, we found out Cody had to have biopsy surgery on June 9th and Roary was born June 10th. It certainly seems that a higher power had a plan that I knew nothing about.

The original Roary and I at a game on my birthday

Our Roary, a friendly, playful, adorable bundle of fur came into our house like a terror. He was into EVERYTHING (and I DO mean EVERYTHING!) From getting behind the washer/dryer, to getting stuck under our china cabinet (or so we thought, until we called the Fire Department and Roary came out 2 minutes before they arrived after being under it for nearly an hour).......we knew we had a real character on our hands. He went from being UNDER the china cabinet to scaling it.

Now, a year later, you can find Roary still scaling heights from the cat tree

to the shower when Lenny is in it, to the top of a doorframe, if it's a high up spot, Roary wants to be there!

In my original post I wrote that I didn't think Roary would ever be a lapcat. I had said that because he was always sooo busy! I couldn't have been more wrong! Roary began to settle down at around nine months of age. Trust me, he still gets into plenty of mischief but he isn't constantly on the move like he was when we first got him.

Roary LOVES to give kisses, he LOVES being held, cuddled and petted.

He still loves to play (I am guilty of not playing with him one-on-one enough) because he prefers wand toys over almost anything else (except those crazy colored springs that so many of the cats  have, he LOVES those!)  He also likes mice, (the small ones, not ones quite THIS big!)

Unlike Cody who was completely disinterested in boxes, Roary has yet to meet a box that he DOESN'T like!

Roary has A LOT to deal with in reference to Levi. Roary likes him, but Levi just doesn't leave him alone.. Still Roary doesn't mind being around him (as long as Levi is behaving, which is usually NOT the case!)

Roary was a most darling kitten and he is an adorable cat. He has grown into his body, but his head seems surprisingly small. It's as if his body grew but his head decided to stay the same! 

For Roary's first adoption day I bought him a couple of items that I wanted to share with you, I BOUGHT these items, I did NOT receive them free.

The mat above is made by SmartyKat and it is called the Purrfect Play Cat Activity Mat. It makes a crinkly sound when Roary plays with it. I think it is darling and Roary loves it!

My favorite item is below. I first saw it on the Hauspanther blog, it is a cat scratcher made to look like a laptop. It is just too stinking cute!!!! You can read all about it where I linked to the Hauspanther blog above.

 

Every day we are grateful for our fun, adventurous, mischievous Roary. He is truly a special boy. He's kind, patient and extremely intelligent. We made it through his wild kitten days!! We love our "Marshmallow" boy and wouldn't trade him for the world!

Happy First Adoption Day Roary!!!

xoxoxo

Love, Mom and Dad 

International Talk (Meow) Like a Pirate day! Why Mess With Purrfection?

 

 BECAUSE NO KITTY EVER WAS

A BETTER PIRATE!!

 I will never stop repeating this photo!

It would not be right on

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

for me NOT to repeat the

catabulous photo made for me by

Mr.Puddy !!!
I mean seriously,
why mess with PURRFECTION??

MY BOY WAS THE BEST PIRATE EVER!!

Our Sheltie, "Levi" is ONE!!! And...We Lived to Tell You!

 What a whirlwind of a year! Today is our Levi's FIRST BIRTHDAY and all three (make that four, if you count Roary), have lived to celebrate it!  

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LEVI!

The above photo was graciously taken by sweet Annika at Bloomfield Pet Grooming

Let's take a look back....

Losing our beloved Dakota and Cody in 2020 was horrific, but having Roary and then Levi join our family definitely was a kick in the butt to start living again!

Before Roary joined our family I had started a search for another Sheltie. Due to COVID there weren't any rescues near us that had any Shelties available, so, as I did with Dakota, I decided to go through a breeder. A few that I was interested in at first  proved to be less than desirable for a host of reasons, none worth mentioning here.

Then I found Greyfyre Shelties, (actually, Lenny may have found her first, then I found her when I searched). As luck would have it, when I reached out, her beautiful Sheltie Myka was due to have a litter of pups! We were over the moon!

Levi and his siblings (there were 2 other boys, Riki who the breeder, Sue Sharp, decided to keep, Stormy, who lives in Ohio and we keep tabs on him through his Dad on Facebook, and 3 girls whose names I do not know). Levi and Stormy look the most alike. As pups it was hard to tell them apart! Levi was the first born of the litter of 6 on September 17th, 2020. 

He was the largest of the litter:

The above photo was taken by Sue Sharp, Owner/Breeder Greyfyre Shelties.

Levi is smack dab in the middle nursing from his mother, "Myka" whom he has grown to look nearly EXACTLY alike!

I was lucky because  Sue kept a diary on her website from the time the puppies were born until we picked them up. We could see how our puppy was growing. It was exciting (as well as frightening when we realized how large Levi was going to be!)  to watch them grow, learn about their personalities and watch videos of the puppies coming into their own.

That little nugget was Levi! (photo taken by Sue Sharp of Greyfyre Shelties, unless otherwise mentioned all of the tiny puppy photos were taken by Sue)

He soon began to grow:

And grow....

(One of Levi's siblings resting their head on their HUGE brother) 

And grow!!!

When we look at Levi now it is so hard for us to believe that he was ever this tiny!!

When our Vet first met Levi, I remember him saying "I expected to see a dog the size of a guinea pig come into the room, not a dog THIS big! Are you SURE he is a Sheltie???"

Yep, he is! 

Shelties are usually either quiet and discerning like Dakota was or loud and boisterous which is Levi. Levi grew fast, and while his mind was still in puppy mode, his body was BIG (for a Sheltie), he is definitely like the proverbial bull in a china shop. The meaning of which is below:

extremely awkward, clumsy person (in our case, make that DOG!)

to be aggressive when in fact the need of the hour is to stay calm

to handle a delicate situation badly

to not be able to manage a light situation

to act in a clumsy manner thereby causing destruction unintentionally

Source: theidioms.com

Levi has a definite seriousness about him (whereas his brother Stormy, takes photos that are more "smiley", Levi has always had a more serious expression, even when he was a puppy)

Our serious Levi....(photo taken by sweet Annika from Bloomfield Pet Grooming)

Contrary to what I have read about most dogs born under the sign of Virgo, Levi is highly impulsive and reactive. There isn't a shy bone in his body. He LOVES people (but has a strange way of showing it with our neighbors!) He is super affectionate, playful, mischievous and constantly keeps us on our toes.

It didn't take Levi long to jump this baby gate, the same one that  Dakota had for 13 years without EVER attempting to jump it, not even once! (Observe photobomber Roary in the background above)

Our "Ironman" Sheltie soon needed an IRON gate! (Truth be told he could probably still jump this one if he really wanted to!!)

Levi's relationship with Roary is still a work in progress. These photos are from when they were younger. They love each other but Levi hasn't yet learned proper "doggy etiquette" that must take place when playing with a cat. He thinks Roary's swinging tail is a toy, and he thinks Roary is a meal. 

He is super protective of our family and our home and has a bark that is DEEP and MENACING, one would think a Great Dane was living in our condo when they hear him from the hallway!

Levi is highly food motivated, saying that he loves food is an understatement! He is so food motivated that the Vet even has that noted on his chart!

Levi thankfully is good at our Groomer, and I am beyond grateful that when I asked if they would take some birthday photos of him in the hat that I bought, that Annika one of the hardworking assistants there, graciously complied:

When Annika came to the car to get Levi to be groomed, I actually noticed a difference in him that I attribute to his almost being one (on that day). Instead of walking beside her like the Tasmanian Devil like he used to do, (when entering the groomer AND our veterinary practice)

 he actually walked next to Annika in a normal fashion! I was also proud when I texted Annika thanking her for the photos and received the text below in response:

"We loved having Levi with us! He is such a sweet boy-very handsome too! I'm glad we were able to get the pictures you wanted, he was a very good boy! Happy early birthday Levi!! 

With much love, 

Bloomfield Pet Grooming"

It meant a lot to me because Dakota had been groomed there his entire life and was always the perfect gentleman. Then, along comes Crazy Levi!!!

The past year has been a blur, it's been wild, fun, awful, terrifying, exciting, rewarding and every conceivable emotion you can imagine having a puppy. It's a wild ride that I pretty much doubt I would ever undertake again. But...we wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Our boy is growing up, he  is maturing right before our eyes.

I have faith that one day he WILL calm down!! In the meantime I call him my "hunka hunka burning love Sheltie"...... Levi lives hard, he plays hard, he barks hard, he eats hard, he slams into walls, he slams into baby gates, but when he settles down and wants kisses and cuddles, he becomes the sweetest dog on the planet. He is also INCREDIBLY intelligent too!

Saw the above  photo  in the Sheltie group I am a member of and it's perfect! The shirt is made by Tee Chip and I have a sneaky feeling I will be ordering a couple, SOON!!! 

Happy Happy FIRST BIRTHDAY to our Levi "Rowdy!!" (I realized once we knew Levi's personality that I made a huge mistake with the name I chose for him. He should have been named "Rowdy"...so...now, "Rowdy" is his middle name.

Thank you for bringing so much love, excitement (and TERROR lol), into our lives!!!! We can't wait to celebrate your "Gotcha Day" in November!!! Will share more info about our crazy Levi then!!

Happy Birthday you "hunka hunka burnin' love" Sheltie!!!

Photo was taken by Levi's main trainer, Dylan (September 15th at Canine College!) They had a Fall scene set up and they took this cute photo. Our boy is really growing up!!

Even if you sometimes drive us completely crazy, we love you more than you could ever imagine! We are forever grateful that Sue allowed you to join our family!!!!! HAPPY HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LEVI ROWDY!!!!🎂🎂🥰💕