FRIENDS OFTEN TELL US THAT WE HAVE OUR OWN PETTING ZOO, AND I CAN ONLY AGREE! GET TO KNOW ALL THE 4-LEGGED MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY!
PEANUT
Peanut was adopted as a puppy from Middleburg Humane Foundation in December of 2011. She is a scrappy little Dachshund/Jack Russell mix, which means she has all the stubbornness of a Doxie and all the excitability of a Jack Russell. Her bark is her super power. When she is not barking at gnats farting outside, her days consist of lounging on the couch and training all of our puppy fosters to leave their elders alone.
"EVIL" EVE
Eve was adopted as a puppy from Middleburg Humane Foundation in January of 2015. She was surrendered to the rescue on New Years Eve at six weeks of age and nearly died of starvation and dehydration. She is a little Chihuahua/Miniature Pinscher mix and has definitely earned her nickname “Evil Eve” by the way she growls and snaps at dogs even 10 times her size when they make her angry. Her days consist of lounging on the couch under blankets and playing fetch with herself by tossing toys in the air and then chasing after them.
FREJA
Freja was adopted as a puppy from PetConnect Rescue in August of 2015. She had been found in someone’s backyard as a stray. A DNA test revealed that she is a Chow/German Shepherd mix, though most days she acts more like a cat. She is a very expressive dog, especially when she wants attention, food, or to go outside. She will sit in front of you and sigh repeatedly until you give in to her demands. She prefers winter over summer and absolutely LOVES moving water (like the ocean, lakes and rivers) but will not step foot into a doggy pool!
ATHENA
Athena was rescued from a backyard breeder in April of 2016. A friend saw her and her siblings for sale on the side of the road in poor condition – emaciated, dehydrated and full of worms! She bought all three puppies and brought them to us. We found homes for her two brothers, but she stayed with us, as we had been looking for a German Shepherd ever since our first one passed away from cancer. In the past four years she has brought a lot of joy – and CHAOS – into our lives. She is a true German Shepherd – incredibly intelligent, incredibly loyal, incredibly protective, and incredibly ball-obsessed! She is also an amazing surrogate mother to litters of puppies that we foster.
NEMO
Nemo and his two brothers were being given away “free to a good home” on Facebook in December of 2016, so a friend took them all and brought them to us. He was given the name Nemo because he was missing an ear (it was his special ear, like Disney’s Nemo had a special fin). We were not expecting to keep him, but after his brothers found homes, he just kind of never left. We call him our “Happy Hillbilly” because he came from West Virginia and he’s always happy! A DNA test showed that he is a Chihuahua/Poodle/Shih-Tzu/Pomeranian mix!
TACO
Taco and his FIVE brothers were born in our house on June 1, 2018. We fostered his mom for PetConnect Rescue. Much like Nemo, we weren’t looking to adopt yet another dog – especially a small dog! – but after watching his birth and raising him for 8 weeks it was hard not to keep him. He is definitely the poster child for Chihuahua’s…small but mighty with a large personality in a 5-pound body! He also earns his nickname “Taco Turd” on a daily basis.
SUNNY & OLLIE
Sunny (on the right) is an 18yo Chestnut Mare Off-Track Thoroughbred and Ollie (on the left) is an 11yo un-raced Thoroughbred. Sunny is enjoying the semi-retired life now, teaching beginner riders, while Emma is training Ollie to be her next show horse.
APRICOT
After caring for a leopard gecko for her biology class, Emma fell in love with leopard geckos. So we went to a reptile show and Apricot joined our family at the beginning of 2020. This is our first foray into the world of reptiles and I am sure not our last!
JUNO
Juno the Gerbil joined the family in 2018, adopted from Petco. She had been returned by her original family because she wasn’t good with their small children. Although our daughter is the only one that can hold her, we enjoy watching her build new tunnels in her bedding all the time.
SUPER NOVA
To this day I am not quite sure why, but in 2015 I finally agreed with my daughter that we should have a miniature horse. When we heard of a group of minis needing homes, we went down with a friend and adopted Nova from Hope’s Legacy Equine Rescue. She was very shy at first and did not like to be handled, but in time we gained her trust. Emma loves playing with her in the ring and jumping her over poles.
AYASHA
Despite our hopes, our first miniature pony and Emma’s gelding pony didn’t get along, so Nova ended up in a small field by herself until we heard about another mini being given away free to a good home. So one day this little white spitfire of a pony joined the family. She was given the name Ayasha. She packs a lot of personality into a small package!
IN MEMORY
Reba was adopted from Virginia German Shepherd Rescue in October 2010. She was our first family dog and really the best German Shepherd anyone could ever have. People admired her everywhere we went.
She unfortunately passed away in February 2015 of bone cancer. After her death I went from not wanting anymore dogs to wanting to rescue all the dogs.
She unfortunately passed away in February 2015 of bone cancer. After her death I went from not wanting anymore dogs to wanting to rescue all the dogs.