The Caradines, Scott, Lisa, Haley and Miles, share their home and their hearts with four furry family members: Sandy, Tu Tu, Otis, Jackson and a few not so furry fish!
Scott and Lisa both experienced early child and adulthood bonds with a special dog in their life and also experienced the sadness that inevitably comes with the loss of that dear friend. When Scott and Lisa first met, Scott already had a lady in his life, a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Rosa. Lisa regaled us with stories of the relentless ball fetching sessions with Rosa. After her passing, it was not until Haley was seven and Miles was almost three that they began to seriously entertain the idea of adding a new canine family member. They had a few feline family members throughout the years, but a pup was a big step in this active family’s life.
Scott studied the possibilities and settled on a family friendly Border Collie. Sandy, formally known as Sandra Dee, is a seven-year-old Frisbee-catching, ball-chasing good time girl with a special talent for retrieving the newspaper. She is true to her herding breed and loves a task. She is also an accomplished “escape artist” and has made quite a name for herself over the years at the fire department, police station, humane society and the Caradine’s family-run restaurant on the square, all of which seem to be her favorite destination spots. What could she possibly be running from? Noise. Thunder, firecrackers, you name it – she’ll run from it. However, with the recent extension of their canine family, Sandy runs a little less often. She is now a big sister to Oxford-Lafayette Humane Society rescues Tu Tu, Jackson and Otis, with lots of big sis related responsibilities (even though we all know the real job of keeping-everyone-in-line falls to big sister Haley!)
Tu Tu, their sole feline family member, was rescued from a ditch as a tiny four-week-old kitten. Bottle-fed and nursed back to good health, “Tu” is the undisputed leader of the pet pack at the Caradine house. She has to be; she is, after all, outnumbered!
Last Spring the family added two more dogs to the household. They thought a puppy might be a fun additional and made a trip the local Humane Society. They adopted Jackson, a gray Catahoula mix who was expected to top out at around fifty pounds. He is now a goofy and clumsy Clydesdale of a dog at almost one hundred pounds. While the family was finalizing Jackson’s adoption, Lisa spotted a little Chihuahua quivering in the corner at the shelter – scraggly, beaten down and almost completely hairless. Christened Otis by the shelter staff, the little pup did not have a good adoption outlook. Lisa couldn’t leave him. This little man with a big name is now a very handsome, fully recovered butterball who loves to spend his days lying in the sun or playing musical dog crates, dragging along his favorite stuffed buffalo and bunny toy with each move. Otis and Jackson love to play tug-o-war and are definitely “besties” in the backyard. Though sweet and affectionate, Jackson does thinks he is an Otis-size lap dog. Tu Tu enjoys keeping him in line with an occasional swat to the nose.
In addition to the four-legged family members, son Miles manages a twenty-gallon aquarium with beautiful neon tetras, a Big Belly Molly and Oscar, the big Suckerfish. Miles might maintain the tank, but we’re guessing this group also gets plenty of attention from head honcho Tu Tu.
Thanks Caradines for sharing your family and constant smiles with us!