On these pages, you will find photographs of our cats and dogs.  We have five (yes 5) Shiba Inu's.  Shiba Inu's are a fairly new breed (recognized by the AKC in the early 1990's), best described as a "Toy Akita's".  Though small in size, Shiba's are "big" dogs in both heart and mind.  For more information about the Shiba Inu as a breed, click the link here.

The puppies were born unexpectedly on May 18, 2002.  Sheba and Wiley,  (the white and brown dog shown below never mated for the three years we had them, and actually were incompatible as "partners".  We had given up hope of them ever mating...little did we know they had other plans.  We learned soon enough that female Shiba's typically carry their litter high in their bodies, near the ribcage, and Sheba is somewhat overweight.  Therefore, neither our vet nor us had any reason to suspect that Sheba was pregnant, especially since Sheba's behavior didn't change at all.

One Saturday afternoon...Surprise! The first puppy was born (hence her name).  We had the unique experience of witnessing the birth of Sheba's litter and capturing photos of the first moments of of their life (and many moments thereafter).  Fortunately, Sheba was an excellent mother and required very little assistance from us in giving birth.  From that point on, our life has been a whirlwind of activity since owning five dogs does keep your hands full!

As for the five cats...well...we each had two cats of our own before we met. Shortly after moving to Florida, we picked up a fifth cat, Rascal, who was an abandoned stray newborn kitten near a friend's house.  We were worried about it surviving during the cool November weather so, he joined our happy family one November afternoon.  Rascal adapted very well to the dogs, so well in fact, that we call him "Dog 6" and the other dogs see him as one of their own.

Click the links below to view the gallery of photographs for that dog.