Photos of my menagerie

I had a professional photographer come to the house recently to take some pics of my dogs and bird.  Here are some of the results.  I should mention that over half of these animals are rescues - unwanted, unloved, sometimes abused and in desperate need of love and attention.  Rescuing Italian Greyhounds is something else I do when I'm not doing needlework and miniatures (actually it's more like the other way around!).

The two old boys you see below were a particularly bad case - they had to have extensive surgery done to their mouths due to their teeth having been badly neglected, and that's why their tongues hang out. They are father and son.  One has ongoing health issues, among them heart failure, and he's ancient for this breed. Neither of these dogs was expected to live more than a few months when I first got them. The good news is that this will be their third Christmas with us. The vet says their life is so good now they don't want to go anywhere!  They are such sweet and loving little boys, I'm so glad they came into my life.

This is Rosie, the first rescue dog to find her way to my home. She was siezed from a puppy farm and although young at the time, she had multiple behavioural issues, most of which have since been resolved. She clung to me the day she arrived here and remains a personal favourite of mine. She also loves to act up for the camera - a real pose this one is! 

Here is the rest of the canine rabble. We had a really fun time getting them all to sit still and look up for this photo! My original idea was to sit down with them, but that didn't work because they all thought it was playtime and wouldn't sit still, so instead they sat in the baskets and looked at me while the photographer did his stuff. He said he had never taken so many adult dogs at once.  All their cavorting around messed up the nice cover the photographer had brought for the shoot.

Left to right:  Rosie, Tia, Pharaoh, Teddy, Tilly, Samantha, Kimba, Banjo and Andrea

Last but by no means least, our little rescue Rainbow Lorikeet, Cheekyface Chopchop Honeyblossom Treaclebeak.  Cheeky to his friends and family (and believe me I named him for his personality!).  Cheeky came to us nearly twelve months ago, rescued from death row at a shelter.  He had no tail and badly damaged wing feathers and consequently couldn't fly.  He was a very scared little bird who showed signs of having been hand-tamed to a minor degree, but he was a fear biter and needed to improve his social skills.  I'm pleased to say that his tail has since grown back and his wings look much better than they did - he can fly a little now but not for a great distance.  He loves spending time perched on my hand, shoulder or head (or climbing up my clothing when he lands on the ground) and is showing signs of trying to talk.  He loves to have his head scratched and will preen my hand in return.  Although he is not allowed out of his cage while the dogs are around, he is quite unafraid of them and likes to lick their noses with his tongue through the cage bars.