Pet Photos and Stories

Pet Photos & Stories

Some of our congregation share stories about their pets for St. Francis of Assisi Day.

Buddy
Buddy showed up on my doorstep about two years ago. I adopted him, and now he is well fed, well loved, and the boss of my house and my gardens. ~From Karen Unger

Roxy
We adopted Roxy in May 2019 -- she is a rescue from Yadkin County, N.C. Roxy is a Treeing Walker Coonhound mix, and is the only dog that we've ever had that will sit at the base of a tree looking up for long periods of time.

~From Judy & Dwight Dubs

Loki
Loki is Jenn and Mark's dog, and he's living with us temporarily because of their busy work schedules (they didn't like that Loki had to spend so much time in his crate during the day). Whenever our granddaughters spend the night with Nana and Papaw, Loki gets very excited! The family love and miss their pup very much! ~From Judy & Dwight

Gertie
Gertie is ready for trick or treating in her Halloween costume. ~From Sandy Sheaffer

Doc
Meet Doc, otherwise known as "The Doctor," the Doctor of Dialogue, the Doctor of Ambulation, the Doctor of Defecation, etc., etc.; the Doctor of many things. Pictured here with his good friend -- although in a codependent relationship -- Cow-Cow. The Doctor -- half Basset and half Danish-Swedish Farmdog has been a member of the Hagenberger family for over three years, adopted when he was around 10 from a Basset rescue in Northern Virginia. He's friend to all people, including our grandchildren, Jan's boon companion by day, Gene's muse and good walking buddy by evening, guardian of the refrigerator 24/7. He's an enemy though of all other dogs, needing an exorcism of the demons of aggression that possess him. Nor is he fond of cows, horses, or chickens, except in processed form. Wouldn't trade him for the world though because he's also our Doctor of Love.

~Jan & Gene Hagenberger

This is CT, short for Crazytoes. She was named that because she has seven toes on each front paw. That is not why I am writing about her. I am writing because she is literally a kitty hero. She saved my life. Last year she began waking me up 4 or 5 times a night and I could not figure out why. In passing I mentioned this to my doctor, who insisted I have several tests. It was discovered that she was waking me because I was stopping breathing. I have since been diagnosed with sleep apnea and afib. My heart was apparently stopping for up to six seconds at a time. If CT had not woken me every night, I would never have discovered my health issues, or I may not even be here ... so she is my hero. She indeed saved my life. ~Kim Cole

Loki & Thor
~From Dan & Barbara Trimmer

Kacee
~From Dan & Barbara Trimmer

Odin
This is our Odin. He's our favorite velcro dog. He sticks at your side all the time. He's a true companion, and Orioles fan!

~From Charlotte Pinette

Cedar
Cedar has been part of the Fritz family for 2 years. He can be full of energy and mischievous one minute and then be a quiet loving cuddlebug. ~From Cheryl & Mike Fritz

Raven
Almost every morning Raven puts her toy ball in her water dish.And, mommy has to clean it all up! ~From Cathy Reck

Dudley
Our great granddog Dudley loves to greet everyone who comes into the house. He will be

2 on December 11. He's the love of our life!

~From Sharlene Davis

Wilson
This is Wilson, the Loosli family’s cat. About a year ago he decided nerf darts were a good snack, but his digestive system disagreed. Wilson had surgery to remove the dart and made a full recovery. At left is Wilson right after surgery and another picture of him now, almost a year later. He is a very sweet cat when he’s not causing trouble. ~From Allison Loosli

Ralph

Our Siamese cat Ralph showed us how to relate to others. For one thing, he spoke up and was extra loud when he wanted to make a point. He visited neighbors frequently and was once found meditating in a box in a neighbor’s garage.

Ralph enjoyed visiting Ron’s grandma in her upstairs apartment for two reasons – she made salmon cakes just for him, and she had a pet parakeet. He must have wanted a closer relationship with the bird, because one day he managed to open the cage door. Fortunately, Grandma stopped him before he got too close!

Neighborhood children often came to the door and asked if Ralph could come out and play. A cat named Morris also came to the back door, hoping for some play time. The two of them would go upstairs to play in grandma’s apartment.

Ralph’s rules for being sociable: speak up, visit your neighbors, and invite people in.

~From Carol & Ron Giesey

Cricket & Tillie

Our cats Cricket and Tillie can teach us to be creative and enterprising in getting what we want, even if sometimes they push things a little too far – like getting into people food, even when it’s totally enclosed in plastic. Here’s a photo of them behaving themselves for a brief moment.

~From Trish, Brian, Hannah & Caleb Kowalsky