Parade of Pandemic Pet Pals

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Who is keeping us sane when we're stuck at home or helps us wind down after a long day as an essential worker? Our pets. With no further ado, our stars at home:

Gigi with Gift

Gigi Norwood: "I’m spending my isolation watching my Bouchercon kitty grow up and figure out this house thing.  Her name is Gift, and I adopted her the weekend before Bouchercon because she insisted that I do, even though it was a most inconvenient time.  She does not care.  She is a former street cat with definite attitude.  The picture with me if when she decided I would do as her human.  The others are from last night in my kitchen.  She was about five months old when I got her and is about 10 months old now.  Still growing, still learning.  Endlessly entertaining.

 

Alicia Kizak's Hemi, who is always waiting for Alicia when she gets home from work.

Amanda Le Rougetel's Holly, guarding the basil plants in the back deck.

Ann's Eliot (a girl, despite the name) has 24 toes, evenly divided!

Ann's beloved Toby, a Pomapoo, passed away just last week at the age of 14.

But Penny Lane, a 6-y-o Pomapoo, is still there to lift Ann's spirits.

Annette Dashofy says Kensi is the best quarantine buddy ever.

  

Coralee and Amy have a whole crew keeping them company! Here's Ginger Winger...

 

Kitsune, aka Zoonie...

Tonglen...

and Major Aloof, an indoor-outdoor guy.

 

No pets, but Deana Dale made this vision-impaired bear.

Deb Romano's squirrel "friend."

Deborah Romano: "Okay, so it’s not a pet. However, the neighborhood squirrels keep me on my toes. When I retired, I also “retired” my alarm clock. The squirrels have since then taken it upon themselves to get me up in the morning. They begin Dancing on Deb’s Deck every morning just before dawn. I think the elderly man upstairs is feeding them peanut shells. They rush up to his deck every morning, stuff their mouths with peanuts, and rush down to the railing on my deck, where they begin eating. This picture is from last summer. I kept wondering why there were always peanut shells in my tomato plants. I have a somewhat out of focus picture of one of them, hunched over, with a peanut in his paws, and smirking at me. They’re kind of amusing except when they run up and down the stairs. They’re so heavy on their feet that in the beginning I thought my upstairs neighbor was falling down the stairs! I would rush to the back door expecting to see his body on the deck. There would be a squirrel staring up at me as though it was saying 'what?!'"

Debs has such a full house, we wonder where she finds the space to write! There's Bram...

Yasu...

Lucy, an adopted neighborhood cat with attitude (like our own Lucy?)...

...and Dax.

And then good dogs Jasmine...

Edith's childhood dog Topsy (age ancient), lobster in handcuffs (Crime Bake mascot knitted by KB Inglee), blue whale, and blind pig, the last two with their babies

 

Hank's recent lodgers, Flo, Wobbly and SpotFront. SpotFront is showing how he can stand on one leg. A very talented duck.

Flora Church's Jimmy (orange) and Missy (gray)

Jimmy is also known as "Jimmy Crackhead" ?!?

The bunny in Hallie's back yard is less a pet and more an uninvited dinner guest.

 

Jeanie's quarantine crew: Daisy, Smudge and Louis.

Jenn has an unnamed neighborhood cat she's feeding...

...and King George isn't too sure about that.

Judi Purcell's Sheltie Sunny clearly lives up to her name!

Good boy Kenai before...

Judy Singer: "Kenai is our 4th German Shepherd. They have all been very smart, but they are dogs. As much as possible, they can't be the ones making decisions about who can come in the house, etc. 

My first one was a cross breed with some giant Irish breed. He carried a softball around wherever he went and expected people to throw it for him. I took him for extensive training and we even went through the off-leash classes. He had a wonderful deep bark and a sense of loyalty that was unbeatable. 

...and after brushing!

Irwin bought the condo across the street from mine in 1979. I watched him come and go for 2 months before we met. His first words to me were, "I've always wanted a dog like that." Then he smiled. He bought Ari ice cream that night and won over the pooch. I think he may have had me at "Hello."

Anyway, people who have pets always have wonderful stories if they are willing to share.

Karen Fleming's Cavachon (Cavalier King Charles/ Bichon) Jake looking ready to snuggle.

And who's this growing out of a pineapple plant? Why it's Lucy's celebrity cat, T-Bone!

Margaret Turkevitch's Louie had a stylish haircut...

...but like the rest of us, he and Jazz are getting a bit shaggy.

 Heart came from the from Greyhound Adoption League of Texas last summer. Marguerite says she loves her stuffies. Yes, I think we can see that.

Liz Milliron also has a rescue greyhound, Koda, who is very elegant...

...most of the time.

Molly, Annie & Rocky

Mary Robert:

These are our 2 dogs, Molly and Annie. Annie is an almost-13-yr-old chiweenie (half dachshund, half chihuahua). Molly (who could walk under Annie's belly when we got her) was also supposed to be a chiweenie but apparently there was another dog in the wood pile. The black puppy is Rocky. He belongs to a friend and we often babysit him. They all like to snuggle up together on my lap, which makes it just a tiny bit inconvenient when trying to use the computer or anything else, but I'll take it!

On her way to a socially distanced tea with her grandchildren...

...Rhys spotted these rabbits, who are keeping the requisite 6 feet away from her.

Pat D's Jack inspired a conversation.

Julia: "I love this picture, and - please don't take this the wrong way - but your Jack is a VERY odd looking pup from this angle! He looks like someone took the head of a Jack Russell terrier, the hind end of a Shi Tzu, and spray painted the middle with perfect round dots. And so well mannered around the overly friendly cat."

Pat D: "You’ve got the head right. We think he has a corgi butt. It floats! The rest might be Sheltie. He has the long hair when he hasn’t been clipped. He’s the happiest damn dog and has a vast vocabulary of groans."

My friend Roxanne is making masks for her grandkids' stuffies. Smart practice if you can't stay in!

Cathy Aker-Jordan in training Ellery Queen as a Hearing Service dog. Since EQ has just entered his "teens," it's gotten a little more challenging.

Kait Caron's Fred (see comment on the back blog.) Working hard, or hardly working?

And for our finale, a pair of gorgeous Golden Retrievers, including one with a link to beloved mystery author Spencer Quinn:

 

Ellie is Mary and Jim Engels' puppy. They got her at 8 weeks, and she's 4 months now.

Maury Mechanick's Theodore Roosevelt Ruff Rider aka Teddy

Maury Mechanick: "As to dog companions, mine is Teddy Roosevelt Ruff Rider, almost seven years old now, and the best golden retriever in the world (humbly saying). He has real bona fides as a Chet companion, as the Chet and Bernie series is one of his favorites. He is a regular poster on the Chet the Dog blog (as Teddy of Chevy Chase, successor to his predecessor in this

Teddy and Spencer Quinn

household, Wookie of Chevy Chase, and occasionally accompanied by Wookie’s and Teddy’s Paw); he guest starred in the music video Spence created called a "A Song for Chet" (appearing at about 41 seconds into the video); and even had the honor of meeting Peter/Spence in person at Malice 28.   

I can actually think of no one I would rather be quarantined with than him."

 JULIA: May we all say as much of our animal friends, dear readers. Please share your shaggy dog (or cat) story in the comments, and if you want to send a picture to juliaspencerfleming at Gmail, I'll try to promote your pet's pic!

Red Hot News: I'll be appearing on Murder By the Book's Facebook Live stream this Friday, April 24, 8pm EST, 5pm PST. Click on MBtB's Facebook page to join me as I talk about HID FROM OUR EYES, writing during a pandemic, and if I really wear pants during these events.