At first I wasn't sure I would be able to bring another dog into the family because I felt as if I would somehow be trying to replace Nanook, but since I have always had pets, the house soon seemed very empty. My husband and I wanted to visit some of the animal shelters here but this became very hard for me. I would cry and could not choose just one when I wanted to take them all home. I told him to go by himself and choose one since previous experience had shown us that we cannot save them all and I did not feel that we could take care of more than one dog adequately. He brought home Mika.

Mika was a member of a litter someone found in the woods. They were lying next to their mother who had been dead for some days. When we brought her home she had lice and GI distress. We had to put her on rice and low fat cottage cheese until her digestive track straightened out. I was so nervous that I had Mika in the vet every time she sneezed. Our vet was very understanding though and new that my anxiety stemmed from the recent experience with Nanook.

Mika is a very smart dog. I had my husband bring her home on a Friday so we could work with her all weekend long before having to leave her home alone while we were at work. I would take her outside every 15 minutes while she was awake and so she would know that this was the place to relieve herself and not in the house. I made sure whenever she finished eating that she went straight out. She caught on quickly and only messed up once the first week while we were at work. Next I took her to obedience school so we, my husband and I, could learn how to make her understand what we wanted from her. I was concerned with being able to control her in public since I wanted to include her in all activities. We all learned quickly and the only problem Mika has now is she still gets so excited with company that we have to remind her not to jump on people.

Mika lives to canoe. She enjoys camping and hiking but I think her favorite is canoe trips. On trips she will open the tent door at daybreak and you can hear her splashing in the water long before anyone is up. I have to be very watchful when canoeing rivers here in the south, since dogs are alligators favorite snack.

Mika usually stands at the front which reminds me of those figureheads at the bow of old ships, and when with a group she wants to be the lead canoe. If while looking backwards I tell her "duck", she knows to hunch down to avoid getting hit in the head by low branches or fallen trees.

She has been a Godsend and gives us great joy and comfort as so many pets do. I wish everyone had the opportunity to experience what pets can give.

We also have a house rabbit. Harry, like so many rabbits, was purchased at the state fair for my sister's little boy. As most children do, he soon lost interest and though he was well taken care of my sister thought he would have a better life with us rather than spending his it in a hutch outside.

Polaris originally lived with a family of many small children. It became quite clear to his original owners that did not make for a good mix. When we first took him in he was very skiddish. Frightened of any quick movement. He has been with us for approximately 6 months now and has warmed up quite well.

We had to ferret proof the house since I do not use cages for any of our furbabies. I first tried using child proof locks on my cabinets but found it allowed just enough room for him to slip through so for now we have to bar the cabinets closed. I have had to put pine cones in all my house plants so he won't dig in them and have had to block underneath the stove so he wont climb under. I have also had to stuff the opening to the woofer for our stereo with a skein of yarn so he wont climb inside. I thought I had all the bases covered until one day I came home and noted the refrigerator door was open. I thought that perhaps we had not closed it well and didn't give it a second thought until the next morning when I was in the kitchen and he came in took his two front paws and pried the door open and went for the box of raisins I keep in there for his treat. Now I have to set a stool in front of the frig before leaving for work everyday.

Polaris sleeps in the drawer of my bedside table. I have placed several old flannel nightgowns which he loves to wrap up in and snooze for about 18 hours a day. Seems this is quite normal for ferrets but when he is awake he is hell on wheels. He will climb into bed with us at night and wake Mika up or one of us to play. But once he starts nibbling on toes I have to put him back into his drawer and he will usually just fall back to sleep without getting back up. He also loves my husband's house coat and will lie in wait to ambush him when he walks by. Jumping about a foot off the floor with claws out, he grasps on to the housecoat and goes for a ride.

Mika is used to seeing smaller animals in the house since we have often taken in baby squirrels to raise until old enough to release on our property. So when I first brought Harry in the house they played nicely. The only problem is that Harry loves Mika a little too much, and Mika soon tires of having to drag Harry all over the house hanging off her legs. So know Harry has to spend most of his time in the kitchen separated from Mika. I am contemplating having him neutered to deter this behavior.

We also have three gehkos. We brought the first one home to help with bug control in the house. Living in the country in the south and my refusal to use any kind of pesticides prompted us to seek an alternative answer to the problem. Nestle was the first gehko we brought home. We released him in the kitchen and he did very well until recently. There is no sign of him and I suspect he has snuck out the back door this summer since I leave the door in the kitchen that leads to the screen porch open during the summer when it is cool. This gave my husband an excuse to go to the pet store for another one. Only somehow one turned into three and where one loose in the house is not to disturbing to me three may be a little too much. So they live in a large terrarium for now.