Wizard is our West Highland Terrier, but, I'm sure that should read, West Highland TERROR!!  But, we really do love him dearly.  When our beloved German Shepherd, Max, died on April 18, 1997, our hearts were broken.  We swore we would never get another dog.  And WE didn't.....less then a year later, though, in March, 1998, our daughters presented us with Wizard as a present for our anniversary in April.  He has been our cherished and much-loved friend ever since.   He is a constant reminder of our childrens' love for us.  He's also a saucy, curious little fellow with a mind of his own, and, he can be determined and hard to train....Hey! wait a minute.....that sounds like our children!!! 

I wrote a story in memory of our beloved Max, if you care to read it.
In loving memory of Max
December 12th, 1985 to April 18 1999

Sparky adopted us in February, 1997.  He looked too healthy to be a stray so I was sure he would disappear and go home, as long as I didn't encourage him to stick around.  He persisted, though,  showing up every day, for a couple of  months.  I have to admit that he really impressed us when he walked into our house right under our German Shepherd, Max's, belly!  The cat had 'cattitude!  When Max died in April, I was grief-stricken and thankful for Sparky's loving presence.   It was about that time our neighbours claimed Sparky as their cat, and, with a heavy heart, I tearfully took him 'home'.   And, home again, and, again, and, again. He kept escaping from their house and coming back to ours. Finally, my daughter, Kim, went over to the neighbours and pleaded with them to allow us to keep Sparky.    He's been with us ever since, and he is very affectionate and loving family member.

Riley is jokingly called the Eddie Haskell of the dog world by some of our family members.   Remember Eddie Haskell, from 'Leave it to Beaver'?  Eddie was that gratingly, ingratiating, insincere kid that was always fawning and trying to get on the Cleavers' good side.  However, unlike Eddie, Riley is genuinely adoring!  We originally got Riley as a present  for our grandson, Alex.   However, shortly thereafter, we bought a house with an in-law apartment and our daughter rented the apartment from us for a couple of years. When we all moved into the same house together,  Riley could go up and down  the stairs at will and he took to visiting us on his own.  Since I was home all the time, he bonded to me so strongly, he ended up never wanting to leave my side.  Of course, there was also the added inducement of  company upstairs by the name of Wizard, so, Riley 'jumped shipped' and has been with us ever since. He is a wonderful addition to our family, a loving and gentle little beastie.

So that's it...those are all our furry family members that live in our house with us. 

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