Now that the puppies are the center of attraction. Other members of the household, past and present, have demanded equal time. Its only fair of course, since they have all played an important part in the development, personalities, and life styles of all members of the household.

Chelsea (the Momma dog) came to our home in the fall of 1994. Our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Ginger, passed away earlier in the year at the age of 13. We weren't quite ready for a new dog; however while on a week's vacation at the Outer Banks,

I discovered that the local papers had a wealth of advertisements for home bred and cared spaniels (not dog mills nor pet store products).  One such advertisement was in a location on the way home from vacation. We stopped and found a sweet tempered little girl with a very affectionate Papa dog, and a friendly Momma dog. Chelsea slept on my lap while I drove the next 200 + miles.

Ginger (upright), Merlin (Papa dog on the floor) and Puppies.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

I got these dogs when I was living in England. Never heard of the breed before. The breed almost went extinct, but was revived by an American. There are actually two type of King Charles Spaniels, the Cavalier and the regular King Charles Spaniel. The Cavalier is distinguished by the longer snout. Merlin, although classified as a Cavalier closely resembles a standard King Charles Spaniel. Merlin passed away a few years before Ginger. This picture was taken while I was still living in England. Ginger and Merlin both came back to the US with me and Ginger had one more litter in the US.

Chelsea and Smokey - Friends forever

Chelsea developed her maternal instincts with a kitten we found. In the fall of 1995 we found a small kitten that we estimated to be about 3 - 4 weeks old with no mother cat in sight. We bottle fed the kitten for about 2 -3 three weeks, while slowly weaning him to eat solid food. Chelsea took care of all the other kitten's needs. (We thought the kitten would never get litter trained.) She also would carry the kitten around in her mouth and he would willingly go along - to the point he was so big his behind dragged the ground! Our older, other cat, was slow to accept this new feline in the household - what a strange animal! Looks like a cat, walks like a cat, acts sometimes like a cat, but smells like that ugly dog. The older house cat, Snickers, never did get along with Chelsea, but Smokey (the found kitten) became the catalyst between the two for somewhat mutual acceptance.

Warning! Attack Cat on Premises!

Smokey disappeared on Mother's Day Eve, 1996. We searched for months but never found him.  He was a special character. Chelsea moped around the entire summer looking for Smokey. And then  in the fall, on a trip to the Outer Banks, we came back with..........Chester!

Chester and Snickers

This is Chester and Snickers. Snickers is the older (now going on 16 years) house cat that would have nothing to do with DOGS or nearly anything else other than food. She's Chester's best friend, plays with him and sleeps with him at times. We can't help believe that Smokey had a big influence on Snicker's change in behavior.

Needless to say, I am no longer permitted to read the local papers when we go to the outer banks.

Baby Sitting:

We can't forget Abby.  Our little friend who we take care of when her "mommy" goes away on trips.  She has a great time chasing Chester around the house.

Abby