Mike's Museum--General, page 1

No, this is not a stuffed animal. Nor
is it a rat. This is our dog, Kirby.
Kirby started out being my wife's dog,
but I begrudgingly came to love him
when he stopped throwing up in my
shoes. My wife and kids express
confidence that Kirby actually is a
real dog. I remain unconvinced. Kirby
sheds about ten pounds of hair a day.

Gypsy is not shy. Can you tell? When
Gypsy came into our home, she weighed
3 pounds and was just the cutest little
puppy! Gypsy is now a 55 pound love-
sponge. Originally, the deal was that if
we were going to get another dog in
addition to Kirby, the new dog was not
going to be over 20 pounds. That was
the deal. Then we went to Scamp's and
they showed us this cute little dog they
said was a Manchester-Terrier mix that
would not grow to weigh over 20 pounds.
They apparently forgot to tell Gypsy,
who grew into a 55 pound Black Lab. We
grew to accept out burgeoning responsibility,
but have not been back to Scamp's since.

Have you ever noticed that all that
cats really seem to want in life is to get
through doors? It doesn't actually matter
if they just came through the same door
just a minute before. They want through
again. Doors--they're a cat thing. The
other two things cats really seem to
crave are food, and to be left alone.
Cali is really special in that she has
her own theme song, and we sing it to
her every time she comes into the room:

She's Cali, the kitty-cat,
She's Cali, the kitty-cat,
Cal, Cal, CaL,
Cali-Cal, Cali Cali-gal.

Such round eyes Cali has (for a cat.)

Cant see me!

I'm not looking. There's nobody there!

Don't get pushy with me!

It's not that Dickens is anti-social, he's just camera-shy, and in general, does not like being pinned down. As a matter of fact, Dickens is really very loving. Sometimes too loving. One of the funny little things about Dickens is the way he expresses his affection with little love-bites, often to your nose. I myself do not have a problem with this, though my wife has been known to express discomfort with the habit. I will admit that a nibble on the nose can be startling to awaken to at 3 in the morning, and unfortunately not always delivered quite as gently as one might prefer.