Molaki, Jinx and Shelby (Part 1 of my own, personal therapy animals)

For today, I wanted to take a break from the official therapy and service animals and focus a little more on those closer to home.  A lot of people have a pet (or more than one) of their own, myself included, and I thought it would be more fun to write about my own pets. I have a dog, Molaki, 2 cats, Jinx and Shelby, 4 budgies, 3 brothers (just joking, or am I?) and my friends horses. In one of my first blogs I mentioned that our own pets are like our own personal therapy animals and this is why I think mine are for me.

Molaki jumping.
Photo credit goes to my
friend who took this, this
past summer.  

Molaki is a almost 9 year old Golden Retriever named after a Hawaiian island (courtesy of my mom who fell in love with Hawaii).  He is hilariously cute when you get mad at him, which in turn makes you laugh at him rather than staying mad at him, it really is impossible to stay mad at him.  He is great at relieving anxiety, because of his capability to make me laugh, especially after a long day.  He also likes to go for runs, which is often shown when he decides to bolt, like he did the other day.  What is really strange though, is that the other day, my brothers were out four wheeling with a few friends, and when they found him, he decided to run in the middle of the entourage of quads.  He also likes to have fun jumping and playing, which is nice, not only because you forget about your stress or anxiety, it also makes me more active, and when he is having fun, so am I.

Jinx on the fence.
The reason this made me
laugh so hard is because
of his lazy leg just dangling
there.

On the other hand, we have Jinx, my almost 2 years old domestic long hair cat who is constantly getting into trouble although it is not exactly his fault. I seriously shouldn't have named him Jinx.  Here is why, about a year ago, he most likely fell out of a tree, cut his leg on a branch (while falling down) and being distracted by the cut, didn't land properly on his leg.  He broke his right hind leg at the hip.  He ended up needing surgery, and the day after, not even ten minutes after getting home, he's trying to climb furniture, so we had to lock him in the bathroom where he wouldn't be able to hurt himself further.  He was deemed a "cone kitty" (which made him hilariously lovable) and during this time we discovered one of his many hidden talents.  He was able to take the cone off of his head.  Nursing him back to health was a very funny and short-lived (because he is so active) adventure.  I really got a kick out of him this past fall when he was sitting on a fence.  Because of his surgery, his right leg is a tad shorter than his left and he can be sometimes a little lazy with it.  Anyway, the way he was sitting on the fence was so adorable and funny that I had to run inside and grab my camera because it made me laugh so hard.

My sweet cat, Shelby is of the Domestic Short Hair breed (aka DSH) and is approximately 11 or 12 years old.  She is a hunter, although she is becoming old and arthritic and doesn't hunt as much anymore.   She is very sweet, and loves to cuddle if she knows you, but if she doesn't, have fun trying to find her.  She also has an odd little quirk, she loves to play on the stairs (which are carpeted).  She will literally "run" (or worm her way around) sideways on one stair, and then go to the next and do the same.  Very strange if you ask me, but very funny to watch (if I find a video, I will post it in a future blog), because it makes you wonder what she is playing with and why it seems to keep her occupied for such a long time.

Molaki, Jinx and Shelby are capable of making anyone want to laugh or cuddle, and they leave me, for the most part, stress free. It is days spent with my pets (and my friends) that I am the happiest.  They just seem to have a way of doing the silliest little things that, they somehow know, will get your attention.