The Animals

My current menagerie is quite small for me. I've got three Pugs, Louie, Dupree and Petey, and an English Bulldog, Coli, who live in my house with my husband and me. I've got a class pet, an albino gerbil named Squirrel, who lives at school during the week. Last but not least, I've got a gorgeous Haflinger mare named Morrissey who lives at a boarding stable near by.

I can hear you thinking, "Aside from the four dogs, that seems like a reasonable amount of animals." and you are quite correct. This is where my husband comes in. Chris is a wonderful man. He is British and handsome and practical. Chris is the finance manager in our household. He is usually very successful at reining me in. If not for him, I'd be penniless and up to my ears in animals of all shapes and sizes.

Currently Chris is explaining to me daily that breeding Morrissey is not a good idea right now, and that I should not ask if there is a multiple horse discount at the stable. He has no idea I've already found two possible stallions and emailed their owners about

prices. He doesn't know it yet, but tomorrow he'll be patiently explaining that right now is just not a good time to get a couple of goats since we haven't even had the horse for three weeks.

It isn't that I'm an out of control animal hoarder. I've been suppressing my farmish tendencies for years. Before Morrissey, I hadn't owned a hoofed animal in ten years when I had a small herd of dairy goats and a horse in high school. Getting a new horse and being at a barn everyday has opened the floodgates. I remember how much I love this lifestyle and how lucky I am to live in a place where suburban areas and rural areas are so intermingled. I am hooked.