Family Pet AlbumDone by Claudia and Josh Davimes

We are always sharing human family photos and I thought it would be a good idea to pay tribute to the four legged ( and sometimes two, eight etc) family members that have a very special place in all our hearts. When I think of my childhood, I have so many memories that include the family pets and I think it makes us all richer for having them in our lives.

Thank you for participating (even though some of you needed gentle, not so gentle and even threatening reminders) Josh and I enjoyed compiling this powerpoint, hope you and the “Kinderlach” enjoy viewing it.

Juno Anati, JerusalemIsrael

After much persuading by both Avi and Yonatan, I finally agreed togive Yonatan the 22nd birthday present he wanted. So, on February,2010, Yonatan's birthday, we droveto the animal shelter near Jerusalem. It was heartbreaking to see allthese caged animals.We told the woman that we were looking for a small dog, and weretaken to a cage housingtoo many yapping and frantic little dogs. After looking around forawhile we both noticedthese incredibly soulful eyes belonging to a partial Pincherand Chihuahua   We looked at each other and asked if we couldmeet the dog in private. It was love at first lick!!! He would not stoplicking Yonatan's hands. How could we not take him with us- Icertainly could not leave him there, not with his look which pleadedus to get him out of here, yet again.This was his second stint in the shelter. The first time he was justabandoned by the owners and the second time he was returned asthe son was allergic to dogs. Johnny- that was his registered name,was about a year and a half. He had his chip and had already beenneutered.  Obviously, the name Johnny was changed to Juno(mutually agreed upon). We took him in the car and drove home- heran up and down the stairs and checked out the house.We have had Juno for almost 18 months and I could not imagine ourhousehold without him.

Halle Baskin, Cal. USA

She is a Pomeranian,

3.5 Kgs, and is well

trained.

Her perceptive powers

are almost human

Archie and Reggie Becker, Toronto. Canada

“So in 2007 we had 2 dogs, Max and Reggie.  My dad passed away on Monday January 8, 2007.  On the Friday January 12th we had to put our little Max down, he was 12 years old and very sick.  Reggie who was only 3 at the time, missed him terribly and actually had a total personality change.  My mom immediately wanted to buy us a new puppy but we said it was far too soon.  Unknown to us, in April that year, she went to visit a breeder with my niece and her boyfriend and she put a deposit down on a puppy that was due to be born fairly soon.  Pick-up date for the puppy was going to be Friday, June 29th and my sister and her husband were going to take my mom to the breeder, who lived about 2 hours out of Toronto, and were going to pose as Dov and myself because the breeder wanted to meet the future owners.   On Wednesday June 27th we discovered that my mom had gone to bed the night before and did not wake up the next morning, she passed away in her sleep very suddenly.  My sister then had the dilemma that this puppy was going to arrive 2 days later and did not know if we would want it.  How could we not, it was the last thing my mom ever gave us!  So we called the breeder and explained that my mom had passed away and could the kids come and pick up the puppy on the Friday, she agreed. So they went to pick him up and arrived back at my mom’s apartment with the puppy, who, should we ever have gotten another dog would have been called “Archie” and my mom knew this.  Friday arrived and in came Kerryn with this little bundle of joy in her bag and she said that they had changed his name.  I told her that we could not do that because my mom always knew if we got another dog he would be “Archie” (Reggie & Archie).  She said no he is going to be called “Archie-Rose”, my mom’s middle name was Rose.   He spent the week of Shiva with us at my mom’s apartment and just helped us all over a really difficult time.

A couple of months later we had to have him neutered and the vet was very concerned because he took a long time to come out of the anaesthetic.  So after much testing we actually discovered that he was a very sick little dog, he had something called a Liver Shunt, which meant that the blood was not flowing through his liver but was by-passing it and going directly to his heart, therefore it was not cleaning out all the toxins in the liver and if we did not operate we would have to put him down.  His liver was also 25% of the size it should have been because of this.  They recommended that we operate on him as they could put a special clamp in that would stop the blood flowing directly to his heart and make it go through his liver.  So off to the specialist vet he went and had the surgery, spent 2 days in ICU and then a couple in the vet and eventually came home.  Today he is a very healthy dog, he has grown since his surgery and his liver is its normal size.  He is an adorable, extremely special little “Archie-Rose” who loves (and bullies) his brother Reggie and definitely has my mom in him.” 

Luca Becker, Jhb. SA

Type - Boston Terrier

Age - 9 months (approx)

Beauty - 10 out of 10

Original son of Wayne and Romy, adopted by grandparents Choni and Heather.

Luigi and Francesca Davimes Jhb. SA

The twins are four year old, miniature longhaired Daschunds. They run the house, love long walks, and while Luigi is “constant motion” his sister can often be found lying in the sun or sharing a chair with her mom while she works. They shepherd clients in and out of the garden on a daily basis, usually in a loud manner. Following the death of our beloved Bagela these two have truly filled our hearts and souls and are in plain English ADORED!

P.S also known as “The Italians”

Juno Feigenbaum, Ra’ anana. Israel

She is the second pet of this family, the firsthaving been called Nala, another miniaturepoodle who made aliyah from Zimbabwe.Nala was our first child – and she will always befondly remembered as being the dog who wentfrom having an acre of ground at her disposal toliving in a one-roomed apartment at the MercazKlitah in Ra'anana.She survived having three siblings and died apeaceful death in March 2009. The day after Valentine's day this year (2011),Steven arrived home with Juno and she hasallowed us to become her family. To quote anex-piano teacher of mine, her heart is just like a black taxi" (is that PC) – there is always room inthere for one more person for her to adore.Despite her spinal compression fracture, she is

asprightly young puppy who has brought more

funand laughter into our house.

“Birdies” Freedman, San Diego. Cal

A little background story: our house street number is 4268 and the numbers hang in front of our front door. Here are the first hours of our new-borns (humming birds) on our front porch in the nest perched on the bottom of the number '8' of our 4268 street number. These were taken yesterday, when the babies were justhatching- if you look really closely you can see the beaks and then the last picture really shows them clearly- 2 birds. The Mom or Dad - not sure which one it is- still sits on the nest at night and comes to the nest with food during the day- there may even be another egg still to hatch.By the way, yesterday as one chick emerged from the nest it popped it's bum out and pooped!Hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we love our new family of pets!Bev and Chuck.

Frankie Hanson, Jhb. SA

Frankie is a 1 year old miniature short haired Daschund.

Sister/companion and loved pet of Jacob and Amira.

Oreo Joel, Sydney. AustraliaOreo is a Maltese Silky a cross Maltese Poodle and Australian Silky terrier. She is black with a little bit of white

under her chin hence the name.

she is the most loveable ball of black fur and loves cheese, she can be fast asleep and the faintest hint of cheese and she is there in a flash.  

I am her favourite and the rest of the family get quite upset that she comes to me rather than any of them if we all call her. 

She is great to cuddle with and is never in a bad mood even when you shout at her.

Flecha Koseff, Cal. USA

Attached is Flecha, our working german shepherd.

4 and a half and crazy about all things airborne including but not limited to sticks, balls, frisbees and bees.

our guard, protector and in the momentor.

love 

Howard and Lauri

Guggenheim and Lelo Koseff, Jhb. SA

Lelo – named after Justin and my favourite coffee shop in New York. She is the unquestionable love of Richard’s life and barks at everyone else. She also enjoys a walk in Woodmead springs but has a fitness issue and often just collapses on the nearest grass patch and waits until Richard offers to get the car and fetch her. She loves Blu Bird shopping centre and particularly enjoys growling at anyone who attempts to pat her or thinks she is cute. She enjoys a slice of wholewheat toast with anchovy when out for brunch.  I think she is a dumb blonde but Richard thinks she is highly intelligent. I did not bother with training her and it shows.  She growls at most of the dogs in the neighbourhood but has made a few coy moves on some of the more ‘jockish’ dogs that she passes. She is a complete party animal and loves going out anywhere as you can see from the picture where she is trying to escape from the front door, with Googy not far behind.

Guggengheim – Fondly known as Googy. The last of the so called ‘gallery dogs’. We had Tate and Bilboa but decided to stop naming them after galleries as they started dying and we thought this was a  bad omen. Googy so far seems ok. He is pictured lying next to my Louis Vuitton bag but generally prefers lying on the bath mat on the under floor heating in our bathroom. He is majorly intelligent and enjoys going for breakfast or brunch to Bayleaf and Sage in the Blu Bird centre. He is not averse to marking his territory in the park opposite. His absolute favourite activity is walking through Woodmead springs and checking out who is on heat, who has made an interesting deposit under a tree and generally soaking up the great outdoors.  He did go for training but found the ‘yok’ dogs annoying, did not like the trainers treats and did not obey any of the instructions, a habit he still has to this day. His favourite family member is Richard  with Lara as a close second. Lately he has formed an attachment to Amanda and is delighted to be one of her friends on Facebook

Emily Lawrence, London. England

Emily is well adapted taking account of the neurotic family history. She has deep attachments and chronic separation anxiety. Despite all this she is a total delight and beloved individual.She sleeps on the edge of the bed though Gail kicks her off. In terms of stratification gail has assumed the role of her biological mother,Fantasa, while Colin has failed to emulate the great eridanus. She is loved by all except Rafi.

Chester and Tanner Polatinsky, Jhb. SA

16 year old Jack Russels. Loving sons of the Polatinsky family for 16 years. Lively, brilliant ball skills, biltong bandits and essentially the love of Jos’s life!

Polatinsky’s Zoo, Ra’anana. Israel

The joy that this zoo brings to this family.... no maintenance, no feeding, just pure pleasure!

Annie and Charlie Rabins, Mass. USA

Charlie and Annie are rescued kittens, so we don't know their exact breed, but they definitely have a lot of Maine Coon cat in them.They are now just over a year old.

Personality-wise they are very different, despite being brother and sister.Charlie is very lovable but scares easily. He has markings on his chin that look like a goatee - very dapper. His purring can keep you awake at night.Annie is FULL of energy. She loves to run and jump and doesn't want to sit still for long. She's always up for a game. Always. And she never met a box she didn't want to climb into.

Clifton Rabins, Mass. USA

Irish setter 2 years oldis happiness personifiedis not "wired" to ever get angryloves people and other dogsenjoys everyday to the fullestis a gift to our family

Announcement:Clifton you have been awarded the “most photographed and emailed dog in the family”.

Thank you.