November is Give Yourself to Give Thanks Month. Declared by me.

I highly encourage all of you to consider volunteering for something; it’s a whole lot easier than you think.

Here’s an example of a way to get your foot in the door:

• Hands on Greater Portland (they have a calendar of events, and great variety of opportunities)

Maybe there’s a Hand’s On in your area?

So I promised more pet lovin’ and damnit I’m going to deliver, even if I’m doing so three weeks later…

First I’ll talk about Buddy. Ah, Buddy. He had a rough puppyhood, I think. Found riddled with ticks, dying from heart worms, abandoned just outside of Clemson, SC by some heartless and irresponsible owner, Buddy was rescued by my sister just over three years ago. She nursed him back to health with the help of my parents, and thanks to a lot of love and dollar bills he’s now quite the doggy specimen. Part chow-chow, part black laborador retriever, Buddy is a car-chasing, barking, tail-wagging machine. Gentle and considerate (he only poops in bushes), he makes up with charm what he lacks in brains. Buddy deserves his name, for sure. I dare you to tell me that you don’t want to shout “GOOOOOOD BOYYYYY!” when you look at this picture:

Last but not least (in my book, anyway) is Jeremy the gigantic cat. I got him about 5 years ago when I was living on my own, and my sister took him to my parent’s house because he’d clearly outgrown my apartment by his first birthday. You’ve heard people say “Wow, that’s a big cat!” about other cats, but I’m telling you, Jeremy is bigger than the biggest cat you know. And not only is Jeremy huge, but he’s also incredibly impatient with everyone except for me, his Mom. Nowadays he’s all fangs and claws and pissed-offedness. But! He’s pretty. And he likes to play. Also, give him flat of wheat grass and a catnip toy and he’ll occupy himself for hours. Here, a stick will suffice:

Want to see more photos of the family fauna? Check out the Oregon Trail ’08 album.