Update: A winner has been chosen and emailed. Thanks for everyone’s entries — SO FUN to read about our pets. Astro says, “Woof!” He approves. ENTRIES NOW CLOSED. Stay tuned for July’s contest. Hmmmm. What shall I ask this month? Original post: Robin was last month’s winner of a “Love The House You’re In” custom collage made by our collage artist laureate Mel Kolstad. That’s Robin’s house… and her dog, woof!… all interpreted by Mel — she cut out each little brick by hand! Now, it’s time to find a winner for June. If you would like to enter to win a custom collage featuring your house and photos, read on….
To enter, complete these two steps:
- A bunch of our collage winners choose to include their pet. Hmmmm… So this month, step #1 to enter is to leave a comment on this post telling us about your pet. If you don’t have a pet right now… then, tell us about a hobby that gets your nurturing TLC.
- And, subscribe to my newsletter. Yes, this helps me build my newsletter list… I send ’em out just once a week, usually.
Please read all the rules here before entering. I’ll pick a reader next Friday morning.
Meanwhile — thanks again to Mel for a fabulous collage! You can find Mel’s collage works on flickr and her blog, Much Ado About Stuff. Thanks, Mel, you know I love your work, and I’m so excited to have this addition to the blog in 2010.
Elaine says
We are both crazy about our rescue dog, Ginger. We don’t know anything about her background, but think she is about three years old now. She was picked up running the streets and was rescued on her last day before euthanasia by the wonderful Almost Home Animal Shelter. We adopted her the same month, when she was about nine months old.
Ginger looks like a miniature German Shepherd at only 25 pounds. We aren’t really sure of her ancestry. She loves hunting squirrels, and she is very playful and loves to have fun. She dotes on stuffed animals and has quite a little collection of them. She is very gentle with them and has not torn any of them up. She also loves to play with other dogs.
Here is her report card from the Pets Hotel where she stayed for a few days last week:
“Ginger is such a happy and a little sassy girl. She had fun in camp every day. When she got tired, she took control of the playhouse and let everyone know she was sleeping. … We all adore her. 🙂 ”
Ginger still has a tendency to run off, so she must always be leashed. We would hate to lose our lovable little gal.
Erica Sternin says
What can I really say? Our two cats, Jasper and Greta, and our dog, Charlie, are the gateway to the Divine for me. Every day they teach me how to live in the moment, enjoy the Good and to Pay Attention. They are my Beloveds.
Mick says
I own a 2 year old orange stripped cat named Felix, he’s quite a cat! His hobbies include, *catching mice, eating, playing piano, turning on lamps, and being petted by visiting house guest* 🙂
Jen says
I found my cat Lucky on a very bitterly cold Iowa morning about 10 years ago. I was driving to work in a near-blizzard, with temps below zero, and I passed what I thought was a dead animal in the middle of the road. Just before the animal disappeared from my line of sight, I saw it move, and I realized it was a cat. Feeling sympathy for an animal in such cold with no shelter nearby, I whipped the car around and slowly pulled up to the “lump” in the middle of the road. The cat did not move away, but just looked at me as I pulled up. I opened my car door and said, “Come here, kitty!” and was surprised when she leaped up on my lap without hesitation.
I had no idea if this animal was rabid or hurt. She did appear to be bleeding from one of her paws, and her face had some scratches on it. But she stayed on my lap as I drove the last few miles to work. The poor thing was shaking like crazy by the time I pulled up to the school where I worked.
I showed up at work with bloodstained khakis and a scared and injured cat. What in the world was I going to do with her? I knew it was a really bad idea to have a cat I knew nothing about just wandering aimlessly around my classroom.
As luck would have it, I happened to teach in an older building that had a two-sectioned classroom. The part where I taught was separate from a smaller room in the back that I then used for storage. It had a door as well, so I figured kitty could stay back there. My colleagues and the custodian leaped into helpful action for Lucky; within minutes I had a box, some old towels, and a plate of egg pieces from that morning’s lunch. Lucky had obviously been through some sort of ordeal, though, and she gratefully climbed into the box and fell fast asleep. She never made a peep the whole day, and none of my students knew she was back there.
Back then I was the cheerleading coach as well, so when my four cheerleaders filtered into my room after school, I introduced them to Lucky and they had a great time spoiling my little cat. Lucky was starting to recover from whatever trauma she had been through that day, and she purred and curled up into the laps of the girls as they gave her lots of attention.
Poor Lucky had been someone’s kitty at some point, for she had been “fixed,” as I discovered when I took her to the vet. How she ended up in the middle of that rural highway, I’ll never know. I’m just glad she trusted me enough to jump into my car and become part of my life. She is indeed a lucky, lucky cat.
Catherine G. says
I just adore these collages and your site! I am very excited that we have a chance to win one every month.
We have a 10 year old black cat named Mason. He’s my first cat, and I probably raised him a little bit like a dog, but we love him. He’s very talkative and social and prefers to sit between us on the couch.
Mel says
Thank you for your very kind words about the collages! 😀 I have an absolute blast making them! 😀
Erin K. says
We have two kitties at the moment. (Our favorite, Nemo, had to be put down last Dec.)
Mao is half Siamese. She came to us with the name “Sweetpea”, which we quickly dropped after feeling it hardly suited her. She is very long-legged and lanky, has a deep, masculine meow and is somewhat shortsighted. Despite the limits of her eyesight, she is an excellent roach hunter. She also habitually kills a little stuffed octopus every evening, then parades it around the house. Her favorite spot to sleep is a rattan basket that has the exact same dimensions as her body with legs outstretched.
Mims is a grey and white munchkin cat (google it if you’ve never heard of it–they’re precious!) with the strangest pale eyes I’ve ever seen on a cat. She is incredibly timid and hides anytime a new person comes to the house. Once you’re on her good side, though, she’ll never leave you alone. She follows us around the house and hollers at us until we pick her up. Her favorite toy is a hot pink hedgehog (“Hedgepiggy”) that is actually as tall as she is. When she carries it around in her mouth, it drags on the ground.
Laura says
Oooh a collage would be great! Sadly, no pets. I’m allergic to everything, including, after a recent trip to the zoo, giraffes. How can I possibly be allergic to something from another continent?
I’m pretty adept at house plants though, have had a couple that have re-bloomed. And once we settle in our house, we will probably get some fish.
Laura says
I adopted Jeika in the sixth grade. A feral tabby kitten, she was fiercely loyal to me, slept curled in the nook of my body at night, spent her days perched on my shoulder and spurned the rest of my family. She excelled at hiding and lived for spring caterpillars (a tasty treat!). Adolescence is always hard, and she was my constant. Shortly after I purchased my first house (a hundred-year-old fixer up-er), she started suffering from debilitating dementia. The first room I renovated, was the sunniest bedroom, transforming it into a “safe room” for her while I was at work. After a year, her dementia became so severe, that I couldn’t comfort her, couldn’t seem to wake her from her nightmares. Finally, distraught, I called the vet to schedule an appointment to put her down. After hanging up the phone, I went to the back door to stare into the garden, try to pull myself together. I opened the door, looked down, and there on the concrete steps, sat the tiniest kitten I’d ever seen.
It’s been several years since I lost Jeika, but Ione, the tiny kitten has grown into a sweet and enormous tortoiseshell queen. Cats and dogs have mystical mysterious magical ways and I thank Jeika for sending Ione to look after me.
nina462 says
My kitty Coco (the nut) is a rescue kitty as well. She was missing an ear due to frostbite & had a cold when we found each other. She’s been with me 10 years now (wow, 10 years?). She’s the best cat EVER!!
And she loves the 65 brick/white ranch that we have. Her favorite spot is on the wicker couch on the front porch …where she is right now-just watching the world go by (or taking a nap). She’s also leash trained.
Suzi says
We have a dog – Moose. He is 11 – but still so active and healthy! We got him as a pup, and he is funny and smart. He is half Basset Hound, half sneaky neighbor dog 😉 He is long and heavy – but short – with short legs and a big head! He has been a great pet. My kids love him.