Meet My Pets

My pets are my family—just as much as my husband and our two-legged son.
If you’re here, I’m guessing you feel the same way. I do things like this (and I bet you do, too):

Miss my pets when I travel.
If I had a superpower, it would be time-warping home each night to see them… then back to the wolves and bears in the morning.

Choose restaurants based on whether they’re dog-friendly.
We do occasionally go somewhere that isn’t—but only if the food is really good.

Plan vacations around our dogs.
The cats stay home with a sitter—traveling isn’t really their thing. But if it was, I’d absolutely bring them!

Feel instantly happy when I walk in the door.
Wagging tails and purring cats weaving around my legs? That’s my kind of welcome.

Make sure everyone’s in the picture.
I’ve given my husband photo collages of our son and pets for Father’s Day for years. In 2016, I made him a clock (pictured here) with a different family photo for each hour.

Meet My Four-Legged Family Members

Alfie

Nickname: Boyfriend. I (not so) jokingly say he loves me more than anyone else in the house does. Most nights, he sleeps on my pillow. Like his brother Griffin, he is named for a football player.

Favorite Activity: Sitting on my lap on the front porch. He’d probably stay there for hours if I had the time.

Personality: Sweet, affectionate, and very attached. He’s also persistent—when he wants something, he’ll stare until I give in. He’s clever with his paws, too: if I’m holding something he wants, he’ll pull my hand down to get it. And if I’m doing something he doesn’t like (like looking at my phone), he’ll drape his paw over my wrist to stop me.

Backstory: He and his brother Griffin (below) are foster fails. I photographed them for my vet back in 2014 and brought them home for a “long weekend.” They never left—and we’re so glad they stayed.

Griffin

Nickname: Griffy. He’s named after a football player—because football is a big deal in our house.

Favorite Activity: Sitting in an open window and bird watching.

Personality: Reserved and a little nervous, but incredibly sweet. When he wants your attention, he’ll head butt you. Hard. He’s more independent than our other cats but still loves to play—especially with Aeneas, one of our dogs.

Backstory: Same as Alfie’s. They came home together for a “long weekend” in 2014… and never left.

Lola

Nickname: Lolo, Lo. Sometimes I call her the “barky little beast”—if you’ve ever been over when my neighbors mow, you know why.

Favorite Activities: Chasing her ball. Doing anything that earns treats. And eating doggie meatballs at Fireworks in Leesburg; she knows how to get there from anywhere in town. Case in point:

We usually walk around Leesburg one evening a week. Even if we don’t eat at Fireworks, we always stop to get meatballs for the dogs. One time, we didn’t—and headed back to the car about half a mile away. When we got there, though, Lola turned the opposite direction. I thought she was sniffing something, but she kept walking. Curious, I let her lead the way. And she led us all the way back to Fireworks. Lesson learned: we’ve never skipped it again.

Personality: Smart, sweet (except when she’s being a barky little beast), affectionate, friendly, and fun. I couldn’t possibly love her more. If you know me, there’s a 99% chance you know Lola.

Backstory: A friend once texted me a photo of a ridiculously cute puppy with a message: “Someone needs to adopt this puppy and it’s not going to be me.” I reached out to the rescue to learn more. We had four cats and an older dog, so the rescue suggested three they thought would be a good fit (not the one from the photo). We met Lola, and when I picked her up, she immediately settled into my arms. When we set her back down in the pen with her littermates, she sat there, just looking at us. She came home with us that day, curled up in my lap the whole ride home.

I will forever be grateful to my friend for sending me that text!

Storm and Panther

Nicknames: Stormy Girl and P-Man

Favorite Activities: Going outside (they’re both on an invisible fence). Storm—sitting in the sink and drinking from the faucet. Panther—harassing his sister.

Personalities: Both are incredibly sweet, slightly mischievous, and total opportunists. When Panther was a kitten, we had to check everything—cabinets, closets, even the refrigerator—before closing it, just in case he had snuck inside. Storm focuses more on food: if another cat leaves anything behind, she’s on it.

Backstory: After we lost our black cat, Chaya, I couldn’t even look at another black cat without feeling sad. But I always knew we’d get another one someday. A friend was fostering four kittens for the Loudoun Community Cat Coalition and posted their photos on Instagram. I reached out to meet them, planning to adopt just one—Panther. But then Storm walked by, I picked her up, and she melted into my lap. Who says impulse decisions are a bad thing? I’m so glad we ended up with both of them.

Aeneas

Puppy photo by Ellen Zangla Photography

Nickname: A-Man, Crazy Man

Favorite Activities: Snuggling—with everyone he loves: me, Mario (especially Mario), Tommy, Lola, and the cats. Prowling the yard for squirrels, rabbits, or groundhogs. Going anywhere; he loves being out and about.

Personality: Sweet—you’ll never meet a nicer dog than Aeneas. He’s mellow, affectionate, fun, and very persistent when he wants something.

Backstory: We adopted Aeneas as a playmate for Lola. I first saw him at a fundraiser I did for Lonely Hearts Animal Rescue (where we also adopted Lola). I can still picture him standing on his hind legs, front paws hooked over the pen, joyfully taking everything in. And those amazing ears of his! When I went in to meet him, he climbed right into my lap and licked my face all over (which I love—Lola does it too).

The first time he and Lola met, they hit it off instantly—chasing each other around the yard (mostly Aeneas chasing Lola, which is very on brand). A few days later, we brought him home on a trial basis to make sure he also could live peacefully with the cats. It was a little bumpy at first, but on day five, he curled up behind Lola on her bed and spooned her. That sealed the deal.

Everyone needs an Aeneas in their life.

Forever in My Heart

Chaya: 1999-2015

Nickname: Chai-Chai (pronounced like the tea)

Favorite Activity: Play of all kinds. She’d leap for a ball and bat it back to you, or hide and jump out as you walked past.

Personality: Super sweet, playful, and mischievous. She loved to aggravate Lindy and would act completely innocent when caught… even with a mouthful of white fur.

Backstory: When we first brought Chaya home, we kept her in a separate room before introducing her to Lindy. I slept with her every night so she wouldn’t be alone, and she curled up on my pillow with her nose in my ear, purring the entire night. Every time I left the room, she’d leap onto me, trying to sneak out.

I worked from home and she spent every day in my office—wide awake. We called her The Kitty Who Never Sleeps.

Chaya absolutely loved shrimp. I could take a bag of frozen, uncooked shrimp out of the freezer and she would appear within five seconds.

At night, she’d start by my feet, I’d pat my hip, and she’d settle in right beside me. When I had shoulder surgery and had to sleep in a recliner, she adapted right away. She’d hop on the bed to wait for me, then cross over and spend the night in my lap.

When she died, I cried every day for two weeks. I still miss her.

Caesar: 2000-2015

Nickname: Caesie (pronounced “CZ”)

Favorite Activities: Anything involving us. He loved to play, especially in the snow. Wrestling with Mario—in the snow or not—brought them both pure joy.

Personality: Smart, affectionate, playful, loyal, and protective. Pretty much perfect.

Backstory: I first saw Caesar, named “Jones” at the time—completely wrong for his regal demeanor—at the animal shelter. We were looking for a dog, and he checked every box: active, good with cats and other dogs, and loved people. He was also, without question, ridiculously handsome.

He’d been returned to the shelter three times before we adopted him. His “issues,” according to previous adopters, included digging, jumping, and being mouthy—all things that training, exercise, and attention easily solved.

After our son was born, Caesar became even more protective. When Tommy was old enough to go outside on his own, Caesar never let him go alone. As soon as he saw Tommy put on shoes, Caesar was at the door, ready to keep him safe.

He truly was the perfect dog for us. We’ll always be grateful he didn’t work out for anyone else—because he was always meant to be ours.

Lindy: 1998-2016

Nickname: Lindy Girl

Favorite Activity: Hanging out with us. Wherever we were, she was. At Thanksgiving, she would often join us at the table—I can still picture her sitting in one of the chairs, as if she were waiting to be served turkey.

Personality: Sweet. And even though she was always the littlest one in our house (the most she ever weighed was seven pounds), she definitely ran it.

Backstory: My first cat, and the first pet Mario and I had together. We’d been married for just two months, and bringing her home made our house a home. I’ll never forget the first time I saw her—she was on Mario’s grandmother’s screened-in porch, looked right at me through the door, and meowed. When I went outside to meet her, she walked right up to me, rubbed against my legs, and flopped over so I could rub her belly. I squatted down to pet her, looked back at Mario, and said, “Honey, can we have a cat?”

Not only did we love her intensely, but she also started our love affair with cats.

Homer: 2005-2019

Dog lying in the snow by Ellen Zangla Photography in Loudoun County

Nickname: Homie

Favorite Activities: Lying in the yard, “surveying his domain.” Being with his family. Eating cookies. Raiding the pantry—if you left the house and forgot to close the door, he’d help himself.

Personality: Mellow, easy-going, and incredibly social. He loved being around people. Whenever we had company, he’d lie in the middle of the group—quietly present and just part of the gathering.

Backstory: We weren’t looking for another dog, but there he was—lying peacefully in a pen at PetSmart, completely calm despite the chaos around him. His card said he was good with dogs, cats, and kids—and we had all three. He was irresistible.

Homer was the perfect match for Caesar, who had the more dominant personality. They played together often, but if Homer wasn’t in the mood, he’d let Caesar know. He didn’t mind Caesar running the show, but he could definitely hold his own.

Homer loved going for walks and would follow me around each morning with those soulful eyes, telepathically asking to head out. He also loved soft beds. One of his happiest discoveries was when we stacked three dog beds on top of each other while cleaning. Homer climbed right on top and looked so content, we just left them that way.

Walking into PetSmart that day and finding him was one of the luckiest moments of our lives.