Getting to know YOU

[pdaffodil]

Hi my name is Penny and my husband is Greg. We moved to Long Island NY in April from upstate NY. I have 4 boys right around a year apart. One daughter in law that they live in CA. No grandchildren just waitting.

We have Merlin who is a large mixed breed he has been with us for 10 years and is very mellow. I got Rocky after we moved to the island as my husband said I missed "mothering" as my boys are upstate and in CA.

We have moved from ND to NY to TX and Germany during our last 29 years of marriage as of Saturday. Wondering if Mr. remembers.

We golf during the summer and used to travel to SC when my son was there in the Air Force. CA will be next.

I just started working at an insurance company 2 weeks ago need to save some vacation time. My husband works for a utility.

The boys will all be here for Thanksgiving and we are planning on going to the Macy Day parade. Then upstate for Christmas.

Pictures of my boys will follow when I figure it out.

[czymom]

My name is Dana and I am Buddy's mom. I havent yet posted a picture, but I will soon.

I am 34 years old with two little boys (6 and 8) and one big boy (49) HaHa. And then I have my absolute fav...Buddy! He doesn't back-talk me as much as the others, and I choose to believe his barks say "I love you Mom!"

I work in a law firm as a Paralegal and can truly say that I am one of the few people who loves my work. Of course it gets really crazy and hectic around here, but that is what I thrive on, no matter how much I raise cain after getting off the phone with a client. I have been in this business for two years, before that I spent many years as an at home mother and working various part time jobs.

My sweety works for a major manufacturing company in our area and my two boys attend the area magnet school. We live in a subdivision on a golf course and love to take Buddy out walking. He would prefer to chase frogs and crickets, but that is ok as long as he poops while we are out.

My hobbies are.....oh who am I kidding, I keep busy cleaning up house after 3 worthless male humans and one worthless male puppy. We also have a bird, she is a loud Amazon Parrot who likes to squawk whenever she doesnt get as much attention as Buddy. She speaks, saying hello, i love you, good morning, pretty bird, pretty girl, chopper (her bird brother who belongs to my real brother and sis-in-law) and various other things she comes up with such as whistling the Andy Griffith theme. She is ruined, along with everyone else in the house.

I suppose that is all I can say at this point. We enjoy movies and spending time with family. My parents are 1 1/2 hours away and I enjoy spending time with them.

[Darcy's Folks]

Well this has been very fun. Guess it's my turn! I'm Kate and my husband and I just celebrated our 3rd yr. anniv last week. I was born in Ohio, raised in Oklahoma. My husband was born and raised in Hawaii. I met my husband where I currently work (he's no longer with the company). We live in the Denver suburbs now and we've been together for almost 6 years. We have no kids, and don't think we will have any. I am turning 30 next month.

I work in parks & recreation as a supervisor over the department of cultural arts. It's a fun job most of the time, the pay just isn't worth the hours. The best part of my job is scheduling an outdoor concert series for the community we serve. I was at one time a music major in college on scholarship for voice, but then changed my major as most do. So I love music!!!! My hubby works as a product manager for a printer company (computers). Overall, someday I would love to join a local band here in Denver and sing. I miss singing as much as I used to.

Before Darcy we both loved to play golf. We still love to play, but we just end up spending our weekends at training classes or just enjoying being and playing with her. Darcy is our first pet together. She is my first dog and only my second pet in my whole life (1st was a cat when I was a little girl). I am so greatly enjoying her and I can't imagine not having her in my life. Since we got her, she's really become our new hobby. Everything is centered around Darcy. Where we go to eat (can Darcy come), where we go in general (can Darcy come), etc. Even through all the demon things Darcy does, I have truly loved every minute of it! My hubby is so extremely cute with her that I just can't stand it!!!

Thanks for starting this thread... it's been fun to read and learn about all of you.

[bradl]

Hm. I'll be 50 this December (lord willing and the creek don't rise) and live in suburbia with four Cairns (on average) and my wife of 11 years - from whom all blessings in my life flow - including my learning about Cairns in the first place!

I used to ride motorcycles a lot but have given it up as age, decrepitude, and other pursuits have squeezed out any available time. I've always read voraciously - now particularly on the web - but precious little information ever seems to sink in.

By day I'm a manager of technical writers. My evenings and weekends are spent maintaining Cairn-related websites We've raised a couple litters and I believe anyone messing around with the future of a breed has an obligation to be part of both their regional breed club and their national club. I'm fairly active in dog clubs but being somewhat shy in person I'm happiest with a shovel in my hand digging-in at earthdog tests or operating the lure machine for Cairn racing. I much prefer being a worker-bee behind the scenes.

We love working our dogs in Earthdog. We dabble in obedience mostly for the social benefits and the bonding with our dogs. We show occasionally but our dogs are handicapped by their groomer and handler! Still, we enjoy the excitement, the camaraderie, and the dogs themselves. We have a teeny tiny motorhome we use as a rolling dog-mobile.

[Brigette]

I also am a 911 operator ( Bubba I swear I think you and I were separated at birth) I also have a dog I love named Yoda-our Cairn, a yellow Lab named Wyatt, and a Yorkie-Poo named Loki. My husband is currently a police detective who specializes in computer crime, but with his degree and training he is wanting to go into the private sector-thus we may be moving very shortly. In addition to working full time, I go to school full time at our local university, so my posts are sometimes sporadic when I get behind on my studying time. I am majoring in SocialWork and Spanish and either want to do substance abuse rehabilitation or work in schools with children for whom English is a second language. My husband and I have a boat we keep on a lake about 2 hours away, we like to get up there as much as our schedules allow. Matt and I dont have children yet, I'm trying to finish school first, but I'm 32 so I know my clock is ticking. I think this post was a wonderful idea, I tell my husband all the time about the goings on with my friends from the Cairn Terrier Forum, so its nice to know a little about all of you. I've agonized over the loss of Fergus and Zoe, had so much fun laughing at the "Helliott" stories, and been cheered up by all of the adorable pictures when I've had a rotten day, so I feel that we are closely connected and am glad to know all of you.

Edited October 14, 2005 by Brigette

[rileysmum]

Hi my name is Deborah, I'm 39, live in Sydney Australia ,I'm an at home hairdresser and a stained glass artist ,I have two children Riley 10 and Tannalee 7,I've been married to my husband Ross for nearly 20 years,Ross is captain of a tall ship which makes life very interesting.

We love the beach and only live about 10 houses from it ,.We have been renovating/building for the past 3 years, we are nearly finished ,I've done every thing from the kitchen tiles to the built in wardrobe ,so I'll be glad when it's done! With 2 kids and 2 part time jobs ( jobs I love) I don't have much spare time and untill I was researching our dog,thats how I found this forum, I was computer illiterate.

When I was 14 my family and I went on a holiday to America and loved it,Ross and I both love traveling and go whenever we can,this year we took the kids to Thailand for 3 weeks, hired a car and drove from Kanchanaburi to Phuket we had a fantastic time and can't wait for our next trip.

I love this forum and thankyou for sharing.

[abe's dad]

I guess it would be my turn now , My name is James (sometimes Abe's Mom will post under my Screen name she is Valerie) we are the proud parents of 3 furless children. The oldest Girl is 22, and a set of Boy/Girl Twins age 16, And 2 Cairns Abe 2 and Scruffy 1(I should change the screen name but I guess that will be OK). I am a supervisor over mechanics and welders for a local surface mining company here in the coalfields of VA. If you watch Discovery and see the large surface mining machines that is what I work on. We discovered Cairns after our first family pet passed away after 14 years she was a Collie that looked after our twins like she was their mother. We found Abe through an add in one of the local papers I know this is not the best place to find a breeder but he is still a great pet. We got Scruffy from an add on the local access channel on the TV this past summer a loving pup with the sweetest personality ( I couldn't and still can't Figure out why anyone would give him up). We spend our time chasing the Teenagers , our son does the sports thing football and wrestling. our youngest daughter is into acting and works with the local children's theater. Our oldest Daughter lives about an hour away working for an office supply company.

[brin145]

Hello Everyone. I'm Brinda from AR with my first Cairn, Crunch, and already thinking about another. I just turned the big 40 recently as all my friends, family, and co-workers rubbed in with black balloon over the hill parties. I work for as a contracts manager/ BA for a information tech company. I've been with this company for a few years and taught at a technical college for 14 years before that. It was interesting to read about so many forum members who have similiar backgrounds. I have a 16 year old son who is a computer wiz. He worked with me this summer developing in Flash for us for some educational software and advertising. In addition to that, he is a great kid. I have been married for 19 years. My husband works as a district manager for a large soft drink company. I used to have more hobbies before the job I have now. It keeps me too busy to do a lot of what I am interested in doing. I am active in church and take care of the website. I have dabbled some in computer programming (Flash). I love to travel and have spent some great times with my husband and son in traveling. I have loved reading about all the Cairns. I am CRAZY about our Crunch.

[Brody'sMom]

I'm Tanya and my husband is Stan. We live in suburban New York City. Brody and Mia, our Cairns, are our only kids. Like a lot of people on this website, I work in law enforcement. I'm a Federal Agent for a small agency within the Treasury Department. I enjoy crafting projects, reading and cooking. My husband loves woodworking. I am a huge Martha Stewart fan and we both love IKEA!

[Cairns2]

What a great thread! Nice to get to know all of you! I was amazed at how many of us have been married 20 years or more! We must have a lot of patience!

I am Cynthia, age 49 (and holding until next April), I am in software sales. My husband, Carl, is 51 and is the Facility Director for one of the local YMCA's. We've been married 27 years and live in Exeter, Rhode Island. We have a large colonial house on several acres of land out in the country. In addition to our two Cairns, Emma and Eric, we have 5 indoor cats. Last weekend we were at the Montgomery Show in PA. You can see some pictures on the Best of Breed thread in this forum.

We are expecting an addition to our Cairn family early next year as we are on a waiting list for a boy. We enjoy gardening and are avid NASCAR fans. My husband is a die-hard Red Sox fan and I follow the NY Yankees. Makes life interesting!

Edited October 14, 2005 by Cairns2

[gus]

Hi everyone. I'm Bill and my DW is Doreen. We live just north of Baltimore. We've been married 29 years next month and have had dogs for 28 of them. We got our first cairn, Angus, (hence the name) about 16 years ago as an owner surrender and fell head over heels in love with the breed. We currently have two cairns; Kenzie, the queen of all she surveys and our big boy Hamish. He is the happiest, nicest dog we have ever had. We have recently gotten involved in a couple of cairn rescue organizations. Didn't realize how much work and heartache is involved in that. We just sent our first foster off to his new home and life is getting back to normal.

[Teri9672]

this has reallt turned out to be a wonderful thread. I'm so glad everyone shared a little about themselves

Wow, I feel really safe here with all the "law" here........

Well, Tim and I are off this morning to go to Dallas. They are having a large Camaro/Firebird show at the State Fair of Texas. It's also our anniversary weekend, so it's nice to get away.

The girls get to spend the weekend with their "Aunt Jan" (neighbor lady that the girls love............. )

I hope everyone has a great weekend..... I'll check back in on Monday

[Kathryn]

It's been so much fun reading this that I feel I should share a little too! I'm Kathryn, the technologically-challenged poster who can't figure out how to work a digital camera to share a photo of Allie, our current cairn. Trust me - she is gorgeous! (But aren't they all?)

I'm 56, and work full-time doing fund-raising and marketing for a nonprofit human services agency. I'm also a potter, and I spend a lot of time in my studio making functional stoneware, which I sell at sales and art crawls. My hubby Steve, 62, is a lawyer. We live in a Victorian house a few blocks from the Mississippi River gorge, and have managed -- over 25 years -- to cover our entire yard and the boulevards too in perennial gardens.

Allie, our red brindle cairn, is 8. She's currently our "only child," though I had a cat I adored who I lost about a year ago to cancer. Before Allie, we had Annie for 14 years. As Steve says, they came with different "operating instructions." Annie was so mellow, so attached to us, so cuddly. Allie is all about motion and having her own way. She cuddles when she wants to, not when I want her to. Definitely alpha, definitely a challenge. Her best friend is Walter the border collie, who lives down the block with our good friend Bette. Bette is retired and travels often to see grandkids or just to have fun, so we get Walt whenever she is gone. This year, because she was giving support to elderly in-laws, we had him almost two months. Walt -- who actually is probably must smarter than Allie -- nevertheless obeys her every command. He does complain to me though. He'll bark, for instance, when Allie has taken all of the rawhide chewies and made a nest of them, chewing one, while Walt has none and doesn't dare try to take one. I'm glad I have Walt too because otherwise, seeing all the cute pups on this site, I'd probably weaken and get a second cairn.

[Kramersmom]

This is truly wonderful, reading all the posts. I'm Rhonda, and my husband is Scott.

We have been married for 18 years. We have one son, Brandon, who turned 11 this past June. I'm 46 and DH is 45, we live in Illinois in will county and the town is New Lenox. Years years ago all the land was basically corn fields and now its growing and growing. We had our home built 6 years ago. I'm a stay at home mom and hubby is corprate with Mercedez Benz. No, I dont drive a mercedez I have a 2003 H2 Hummer, but DH drives mercedez as there company vehicles.

My first Cairn Missy took alot of my time and kept me at home due to all her illness's. Even with all her medical problems, diabetes, liver etc... my girl was 5 days short of her 17th birthday. Bless her heart. I am a firm believer that every child should be blessed to grow up with a pet, but after I lost Missy, I was devasitated and went into a depression. My family knew that they couldn't help me no longer, so I was under the care of a very well known Dr who truly helped me get life back on track. We now have an almost 1 year old Cairn (Oct 20th)

named Kramer whom has helped me in so many ways.

I haven't been to active on the board due to hospital stays on and off due to Ishemic colits. I'm doing well now and hope to stay that way. With an 11 year old son and Kramer I'm kept pretty busy doing things at his school, helping out in the library etc... going to football, basketball, and all the other sports. I'm usually called the the taxi mom. Then all the times I walk Kramer, play ball and whatever else he wants to play. (He tells me) Yes, he has his paws wrapped around me.

Other than that, I enjoy this forum very much, alot of great memebers and excellent topics. I also moderate a canine diabetes board which you can check out anytime or if you know of anyone that has a diabetec pet there is alot of excellent information there at www.petdiabetes.org

[Lesley]

This is too much fun - I can hardly focus on my work - eager to read about all my Cairn Forum friends. This is Lesley - surprise! Here's the family profile: Married 20 years to Keith ......who when we met in college and dated/married did not even know what golf was - that's changed. He's a great guy and partner. He works at Ivy League School in finance. We have 2 children - I was chasing a career - so with God's blessing - along came a son 13 ( is there a forum for these kinds? I need big help) and a daughter 9 - who loves our Rusty puppy. I've been in medical sales for 25 years - mainly surgical products and in last 2 years - switched up a bit and work for a UK company marketing anatomy software to college professors/students. Anyone who is searching for colleges in Northeast for kids - I'm here to consult, having wondered many campuses. oh, and we live on the boarder of NJ/PA, just about 15 minutes from the Delaware River. Both Keith and I went to school here. I wanted to go on to Vet School - after I graduated with a "Aggie" BS degree. Activities include Church involvement, kids sports and activities. I still don't understand the game - but lacrosse has been fun to watch. Most of time is devoted to my chauffer job - back and forth with kids! My family is all in the south - so we travel to see them a few times a year. One of our annual summer trips is to Bald Head Island - to guess what -??? GOLF and we all love the beach. Rusty was delivered to us the end of Jue - a beautiful "alpha" pup - red brindle - or so we think at this time. Basically, I stalked the breeder locally and she agreed to place him with us. This is our first family dog - as I wanted to make sure we were all ready to provide him the attention and love he needed. Rusty's mom is Lola (she's a pretty one - and a champ) and Ralph - same kind of genes. He holds his tail straight up - just like Mom and has his Dad's red coloring. Lola is a super Mom - she let Rusty nurse up to the very last minute he left her. We go and visit her - and she put's Rusty in his place. Oh, Freddy is his brother - and Rusty picked on him alot. Like all of you - Rusty has become the center of our household - my friends and family think I"ve flipped. The sun rises and sets for the king - Rusty Roo Roo. Going to Cairn shows (Montgomery), talking to my breeder weekly, snuggling on the coach, feeding him beef tenderloin - just a tad, and walking him non stop. He goes with us everywhere. It's been wonderful to hear the funny stories and invaluable lessons learned on this forum. I've enjoyed meeting and talking to you all.

Lesley

[Guest mrskti]

I have to giggle, this reads as a cairn support group....

Hi, My name is...______, i have X amount of cairns!!! LOL

and my two are wrestling on my right as I try to type!!!! I know they're going to bite me!!!

[kaya3]

My name is Krista, married to jeff for 11 years. we have 2 sons, griffin(6) and jonah(3). We are expecting a 3rd child in march! We have 2 dogs. MAisy our cairn pup, and lucy, our lab/shepard mix we rescued from a shelter last year. they have no idea that there is almost a 60 pound weight difference between them!

I am mostly a stay at home mom, but I have my own children's prtrait biz that i do on weekends. I do mostlyB&W natural, unposed portraits. dh is a programmer.

oh, and we live in NE IL!

[Fiamma]

This thread is addictive! It so great to hear a little bit a/b everyone here. Well, I'm Bernice and my husband is Jose. We celebrated our 3rd anniversary on Sept. We are both 30 yrs old with only a fur-kid. We are planning to start a two legged family next year.

We are originally from Puerto Rico but are living in FL in a nice suburban area. We met in High School in PR but we were never sweet hearts or even dated. 9 yrs passed until we decided to become each other's better half. And it was worth the wait. Dh was residing in FL when we started dating. Imagine the phone bills as I was still living in PR! We were seeing each other every 3 months when he was traveling to PR or I was coming to FL. I moved with him after we got married. I love it here. The only thing I miss is, of course, my parents who still live in PR, the beaches (which are beautiful) and the little chihuahua my parents have. The most amazing thing is that every time I visit them (once a year I go to PR for 4 or 5 days) the little chihuahua recognizes me, greets me and celebrates me like if I have never left the house.

My dh is an electrical engineer and I am an investigator for the State. My job is to determine abuse, neglect or exploitation of the elderly or disabled adults.

My passion is my Cairn Skeeter, my dh and to travel (in that particular order ). Dh and I are planning a trip to Europe for next year after his graduation (he is doing his Master in Industrial Engineer). We went recently to Canada to the Niagara Falls and I fell in love with that area. I wouldn't mind if we ever decide to move up North. Another passion that I have is to navigate through this great forum because it has been so helpful in understanding and learning a/b cairns since Skeeter is my first cairn AND my first terrier. You guys are the best!

Bernice

[Logansmom]

Guess it's my turn. I'm Ann and DH is Bill. Our sixth anniversary is fast approaching, October 30. As some of the others, I too was blessed with a second chance. I have a 25 year old son living in New York. Bill and I have only dog babies together (I'm 46!). Logan the Cairn is 22 months and Sadie the Miniature Schnauzer is seven months. I am a financial consultant and Bill works with the top rated restaurant in Baltimore (No, really....I'm not biased at all). We live in Towson, Maryland (just north of Baltimore). Our hobbies seem to center around these two characters. It is always fun to read about folks from the other areas. Until I met Bill I was a nomad. My father was an agent with the F.B.I. so we moved all the time and first hubby was in the Air Force. I have actually been in the same house now for seven years which is a record for me! Bill was born and bred here in Baltimore so I don't think I'm going anywhere any time soon. We do get up to see my folks once a year in Northern Wisconsin. I'm waiting to take him up there in the dead of winter so he can see real snow, not this Maryland snow.

I've always felt "close" to everyone here. We are very much like a wonderful extended family. I'm so glad to meet you all as well as the fur babies. Thank you all for sharing.

[LizzieP]

My turn! My name is Liz and my husband is Richard. We have been married for 18 years and have one son, Kyle, who is 17 and a senior in high school. I'm not sure if I'm going to survive our son's last year of school. This is Homecoming Weekend and Kyle is out and about with a date and friends living his own life. I already feel like an empty nester. Lucky for me Finnegan, 13 weeks, entered our lives and keeps me busy not thinking of the the perils of teenagers. We are so lucky to live in the mountains of Idaho, about 60 miles north of Boise. My DH has a home office and is VP of an Audio Visual company and travels quite a bit. I am a stay at home mom with interests in reading, rafting and kayaking. My DH is a hunter and fisherman. Tomorrow is the opening day of elk season so Richard is on top of his mountain waiting for the bugle of the elk. For all you non-hunters, we do eat what he brings home and my husband is the most ethical hunter hiking the trails. Besides Finnegan we have Augie, a 13 year old yellow lab and three cats. Lucy, our youngest cat, has adopted Finn and they are the best of buddies.

This has been a great thread. It is amazing how long people have been married and how we are such a well educated and professional bunch. Does this mean our carins are smarter than the average canine? I think so!

[abe's dad]

I am really enjoying this thread as well DW and myself have several conversations that start "Did you see what they were talking about on the Cairn Board?" . There sure are a lot of common threads ,I guess it just proves that this really is a small world when you think about it.

Lesley I thought you might find this funny , if you look at the Calendar pictures that Hallswel has posted the August picture has a cairn on the beach with his nose in the breeze. This picture was taken on Oak Island just a rocks throw from your vacation spot. We love that area and have been visiting there once a year for the past 5 years.

[Tracy A.]

Hello All-

I'm Tracy, 35 (ugh) and will be married 7 years on Halloween to Steve, 50. We live outside of Cincinnati Ohio. Steve is a native of Cincinnati, and I grew up in the northern subs of Chicago.

I work as an Administative Assistant for a Health Insurance co., and my husband is a printer and part-time writer. He has published sereval fiction books.

My family are German Shep. people, and I was 14 my first time in the Obedience ring. Steve and I were Dogless after (my/our) 15 year old German Shep. Waylon passed away 2 years ago. In deciding to become 'parents' again- as we will not have any 2 legged kids, I did a lot of research on different breeds. Though I love GSD's, the hair, oh the hair- We decided somthing smaller and shedded very little was in order. Hence we arrived at Big dog in little body.

Mettwurst & Brattwurst now 5 Months are our first Cairn's, and I may proudly say that my Mother is totally taken with her Grand Puppies, and may convert to a new breed!

Hobby-wise, I do the cover-art and proofing for Steve's books, and schedule signings and lectures for him. We have a massive Halloween collection, as it is our fav. holiday. We spend a lot of Octobers in the Hudson River Valley - to Boston area. This year we are going to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Event for a weekend- But we are missing already the Hudson Valley.

I have a small part-time Jewelry bussiness that I started a year ago. My workshop is in our Laundry room. I mostly work in Sterling Silver & Semi Prec. stones with gold repair jobs here and there. I hope to grow the business more so I can do it full time. This has come in handy and saved me $$ as Mett & Bratt have broken every silver/gold chain I own! Everyone of them has been re-soldered. The boys are metal obsessed right now, and are chewing on my rings too.

One handy thing, if I drop a stone or setting they boys will find it- I just have to be careful and get it back right away. I was on poop-patrol for a 5ct Amethyst last week. Thankfully I found it under the sink.

Tracy, Steve, Bratt & Mett

[Bekah]

I'm Bekah, 23, and I've just started my first "real" job as an editorial assistant and reporter for a brand new weekly newspaper in Bethlehem, Pa. I was very involved in the start-up of the paper over the past two months and was unable to spare much time to post though I have been reading this site. I still live with my parents and older brother, but I am hoping to change that soon. Both of my parents are involved in education. My brother is a sportswriter and I have an identical twin sister who is a high school special ed teacher.

Technically, Liddy is my mom's dog, but since I was home during the day Liddy and I formed a tight bond. Now that I'm working full-time I don't get to spend as much time with Lids -- I think for awhile she was mad at me, but now we're both used to the new routine (though I miss her sometimes). I really enjoy this site and have gotten so much useful advice out of it. This is a great thread!

[Bailey]

Oh, I suppose I'll share. I'm Trista, I'm 21 and I live an attend college in Boston. My fiance, Danny, and I have be together for just about two years, and have been living together since May. I grew up in Southern Connecticut by the beach, and I have to say that's what I miss most when I'm in the city. I'm studying PR and Political Science, and my fiance is studying architecture. When we graduate we're hoping to relocate down South somewhere, because I can't stand the snow (and I'm starting to think Bailey won't be able to either). Bailey is our first cairn, and my first small breed dog (My family loves large dogs think mastiffs Danny's family had a Lhasa that just passed in January from old age, his parents acutaly just got a new puppy yesterday, a little Lhasa Poo He's so adorable. They named him Guiness.

Anyway my main interests are my Bailey, writing, and my family.

This forum has been such a haven for me when I'm at my wits in with Bailey! It's been great to get to know all of you.

[ZephyrandCleosMom]

I've just got to chime in now! My name is Amanda and I'm 24 years old. I am an elementary school teacher here in Southewestern Virginia-- my husband does government contracting by day and is a pro-wrestling referee by night. We've been married now for 3.5 years and have been trying to have children for about 2.5 years. I had never had a pet my whole life, wereas my husband has never been without at least one dog....so when we finally got out of a Resident Assistant situation and moved into our own house (ahh! Mortgaged at 22 years old!) we started looking for dogs at the local SPCA. Luckily, last February we found our two little Cairns. We fell in love with Cleo immediatly and asked to adopt her... but....Cleo was part of a package deal.. if we took her, we had to take a little grey dog named "Nothing" (Cleo's brother)... I instantly said yes, we'll take them both!! Then, the first time I ever took "Nothing" on a walk, I knew he had an old California soul (I grew up in San Francisco... moved out here when I was 18 for college)... so he became Zephyr. This last summer we found out we were pregnant for the first time but unfortunatly, we miscarried in our 11th week. But, don't cry too hard.. we're trying again! I love teaching, crafts, sewing and torturing our poor little doggies.