Pet of the Month

Congratulation to our June 2024 Pet of the Month, Pocky (Cubby) Stafford! 

Pocky (“Cubby”) was born in Orlando, Florida, sometime in 2013. He was originally owned by a family friend who came to live with us in early 2014. When our friend decided it was time to move on, we decided that Pocky should live with us forever!

From the beginning, Pocky has been very friendly cat who enjoys the company of our other pets. He is also very friendly and loving with humans. To this day, he is a big ray of orange sunshine, who loves to love! He is especially fond of lovely young ladies (feline and human).

Pocky, who now mainly goes by “Cubby”, has brought immeasurable joy to our family! We’ve spent hours making up stories about his “past lives” (cat food manager at “Cublix” and administrative assistant, to name a few) and watching him enjoy life. He is a full-figured animal who enjoys eating, sunbathing by the pool, being the “little spoon”, and carrying his favorite toys around the house while meowing loudly. Pocky/Cubby is the total package!

Being the man of leisure and snacks that he is, Cubby has had an ongoing battle with digestive issues (constipation). We are very lucky that our friends at TOAH take excellent care of him and help get him back to normal when he has problems. Cubby is planning a summer “glow up” diet and exercise regimen in hopes of resolving his digestive issues for good!

Congratulations to our April 2024 Pet of the Month, Murphy, Symanski!

I rescued Murphy from a family friend who had cancer and the family could not take care of a kitten. Murphy was four months old when I got him in 12/2004 and had a horrible case of scabies. He had many medicated baths and was such a pretty tabby again.
Murphy is a very loving and vocal cat. If you pet him too long, he starts drooling.

Growing up, he was an indoor kitty only, but he then wanted to live out on our porch. Eventually, he went to live outside with his five friends, but we installed a pet door for them so they could get back on the porch. Murphy was a wanderer. He would climb the fence and sleep two houses down in their backyard, which scared me every time he was missing, but he hated being inside at this point. Murphy has outlived all of his friends.

Now, at 19 1/2, Murphy struggles with arthritis, hyperthyroidism, and kidney failure. He has been an inside cat for the past two years, which has spoiled him rotten. He goes out daily for fresh air and to see his best girl, Roxanne. She misses him being outside with her, so she runs to greet him every time. I’m not sure how much time I have left with him, but he is a very important part of my day, and I take extra special care of him.
Thank you for choosing my Murph Murph as the pet of the month!

Congratulations to our March 2024 Pet of the Month, Deuce, Brumback!

Deuce was rescued in January 2012 from the Sanford SPCA. At that time, we lost our Husky mix Carson, who was Gatorgirl’s (ridgeback hound dog mix) BFF. She was truly lost without him. Paula said, “No more dogs!” but Sarah and I disagreed! There are two pics from Sanford, one of him in his kennel and one in Sarah’s lap. He was about a year old, and we told them we needed a male dog who was okay with cats and was house-trained. Deuce checked all the boxes.

Over the years, he’s been a great guard dog, companion for Leola (who lived with us until she passed at 92), target for one of the cats (who arrived in 2015), and most critically Gatorgirls BFF for her last 5 years.

He loves his rides and treats, lying on my office floor while I ride my bike, begging Paula for scraps while she cooks. He also sprints to Becky, our pool lady, for treats when she arrives. He loves his daily walks, where he can bark at anyone and everyone outside the house. Most importantly, deuce loves snoozing in his favorite closet. Deuce has always appreciated TOAH’s loving care. He’d be honored to be TOAH’s pet of the month and will gladly represent TOAH publicly in any way you request. Thanks for the honor!!!

Congratulations to our February 2024 Pet of the Month Kali Mae, Suppler! 

It is with great pleasure I tell you about Miss Kali Mae. We had gone up to Pet rescue by Judy to look for a companion cat for our cat who had lost his letter. When we walked in and were looking around, we saw this tiny little calico child. She looks so scared and alone. And then we saw Harry, and of course he had to come with us as well. I had gotten some background information from the foster mom. Callie had been rescued out of a hoarding situation. She literally have been found in the trash. As a result, she had a lot of emotional baggage, and was terrified of everything, including her own shadow.  we brought her home with Harry and made a point of putting cardboard around the basis of all the furniture. I worked with her and worked with her constantly for three solid weeks and she just would not talk. Finally, just at my wits end I called the foster mom and let her know. I said I I don’t know what else I can do for her , I’m afraid it’s just not gonna work out. Kali was listening and the following morning she found her voice and started to vocalize. She has not stopped since then.
Over the years, she had been having digestive issues due to what it happened to her when she was young. Right before Thanksgiving things last year she could not hold down food. We came over to Toah and of course she was seeing as soon as possible. She was treated and everything seemed OK. Then Thanksgiving day the same issue was going on and off to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic . They treated her, ran several tests, and she was brought home. the day after Thanksgiving we had a follow-up visit with Toah and the same thing occurred. More test were done and between the staff and the doctors were doing everything they could to get her to hold food down. It was scary thank goodness for the dedicated team. She now has allergy free food and a slow feeder bowl. We’re so happy to report that with her annual check up that just took place a couple weeks ago. She is a healthy baby girl. 12 years old and we were told that she does not have the teeth of a 12-year-old cat.
She absolutely loves to chase her brother and sister around. Her favorite place in the house are on our laps and on the couch. She is so smart if I’m in the kitchen and I say Callie on the couch and point to it she just dropped right over there and put herself down on the couch and wait for us. And she loves her collar. She considers a jewelry and if it falls off for any reason or comes off, she’ll sit down and she’ll wait for you to put it back on.
I could ramble on and on about her, but she is an amazing girl!

Congratulations to our January 2024 Pet of the Month Luly, Rodas!

Lully was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on June 21, 2011. Her original owner moved to FL in 2015, soon after hurricane Maria, but couldn’t care for her as well as 2 other dogs. Our family had not considered adopting any other pets following a sad loss of our 18-year-old dog Sasha, and 21-year-old cat Simba, however Lully stole our hearts.

We had met Lully once in PR when she was a tiny, shy puppy. In PR, Lully had overcome a pregnancy when she almost died and lost both puppies. She had been bullied by larger dogs hence was very timid – wouldn’t bark, slept most of the time, and didn’t play at all, to a point we thought she had some sort of genetic or medical condition. However, after a few weeks with our family (children, grandchildren, large dogs in our family, and frequent family gatherings), Lully is now the queen of the house.

She’s very happy, loves to cuddle with anyone who can provide warm arms and affection, and she’s very protective – our children’s 80-pound dogs Labradors won’t mess with this little 4-pound chihuahua. Lully is a tough little dog – she had may of her teeth pulled, which required a 2-day trip to a university vet hospital in Gainesville. Not long ago, an ear infection kept her from keeping her balance for 2 months, but is much better now following several treatments. Now she’s happy and healthy – during the day she loves to park herself in her bed in papa’s office; in the evenings she loves her spot on the sofa in the living room. She loves long rides in the car and has visited Apalachicola, Georgia mountains, and South Florida.

Lully brings joy and happiness to our family – our children and grandchildren love her and always care for her. We’re blessed to have such a wonderful 4-paw family member in our lives.

Congratulations to our December 2023 Pet of the Month Paisley, Sullivan!

Growing up, I always wanted a cat; however, my parents are “dog” people, and I was not allowed to have one (I’m also slightly allergic, but I didn’t care).  When my now husband and I started dating nearly seventeen years ago, he suggested we look at kittens. We saw our tiny girl, Paisley, at a local adopt-a-thon, and I knew she was perfect.

Being my first cat, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Paisley.  We had two dogs, but she held her own. I found her nocturnal habits fascinating, and for having such short little legs, boy, could she jump! There was also the night she escaped and pushed through the screen of our condo, and the next morning, I found her perched on the third storey balcony of a neighbor! As a kitten, she definitely kept me on my toes!

Compared to some of our other pets with chronic issues, Paisley has been relatively easy. There was a bout of vertigo when she was six, which scared us because who knew cats could get vertigo??? Since moving to the Tuscawilla area years ago, I have always felt that Paisley’s well being has been of utmost importance to the team at TOAH. They have been kind, gentle, and patient with not only Paisley, but me as well, and to be honest, I use Google for any and all issues that arise, so you can imagine the list of potential ailments I would rattle off to the techs and doctors as soon as they entered the room. Most recently, we have worked with TOAH to provide the best care for kidney issues that have developed. Earlier this year, Paisley also had a recurrence of vertigo, and the front desk fit me in right away. Dr. McPherson was her usual calm, rational self, and within weeks Paisley was back up and running. Speaking of running, Paisley has also developed arthritis recently, and because of her kidney issues, we were unsure if a newly successful medication could be given. Dr. McPherson once again took the time and researched the drug to make sure that it would not interfere with Paisley’s current issues.

Over the years, we have added more dogs and cats to our family, but I like to think our sweet Paisley is what guided me to becoming what I so proudly call myself these days – a crazy cat lady.

Congratulation to our November 2023 Pet of the Month, Lester Moffitt!

Lester:  16 years old

Lester is too handsome and too irresistible. It was love at first sight!

Lester is a show dog. When he goes to shows, people flock to take his picture and Lester poses for them. He is such a little ham!

People ask me what do you like best about Lester? Well, where do I start… He aims to please. He always keeps me company while I work and makes sure I stay on task.

How spoiled is your pet?  Very!! The baby is very spoiled and does not know he is a dog. I believe that Lester thinks that every day is a fun day and that he is the show.

He makes me laugh on a daily basis!