"Compassion can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind." -Albert Schweitzer

Our homepage is dedicated to our pets -- past and present.

But first, our story...

My husband's name is Erick. He is a Dutchman, born on Java, Indonesia (formerly the Dutch East Indies). He came to the United States from Holland, in 1959. We met in 1968, when we worked for the same company in downtown Los Angeles. We married in 1969.

Erick and I have three wonderful children.

Our daughter, Jennifer, is the oldest. She and her husband, Eric, (there are lots of Erics in this family) live in La Jolla, where he is completing his postdoc in organic chemistry. When Jen isn't working or horseback riding, she volunteers her timehelping to place dogs and cats from temporary foster homes into permanent loving homes.

Our son, Eric's love of Reggae music (and music in general) has already carved out a path for his future. He is publisher, editor and writer for a music review magazine.

Jason is our youngest. At 22, this handsome and sensitive young man aspires to go into social work. He is currently a college student and will graduate this year.

How very proud we are of our children.

My name is Jude.
I am a native Californian, born and raised in Los Angeles. I write short stories--mysteries--and am looking forward to having my sixth story published this year. (You're welcome to visit my writers page. Just click on the link at the bottom of this page and it'll take you there.)

My love for animals is second only to my love for my family.

That, briefly, is our story.

Now, here is theirs...


SHEBA
Sheba was a rescue Shar-pei. She found her "niche" in our already full house nearly 10 years ago. She came to live with us after her first two owners decided they no longer wanted her. She was headed back to the pound when the hand of fate gave her to us. How my heart aches for that first year of her life which we missed. Sheba is 11 years old now.



Dexter
Our little mutt. He is a wire haired, short-legged "something" with personality plus. He is my protector and our "alpha" dog. We adopted Dexter when he was a year old from the SPCA. He is now 12 years old.


Sheba and Dexter




Willie
What can I say about Willie, our wayward cat? From 14 oz when we adopted him just 4 years ago... to 23 pounds (and growing still). He is the largest cat we've ever owned! Willie gets what he wants, when he wants it...and we all bear "Willie scars"...including the vet! But we love him just the same. (Well, maybe not the vet!)



Emily
Tiny Em, our free spirit. This soft spoken little ball of fur requires so little, but gives so much. She weighs only 7 pounds. Her favorite spot is curled up up on my husband's lap. We adopted Emily from the SPCA while vacationing in San Francisco. She had been found cold, hungry and very lost in a parking lot. Emily is 4 years old.



Lucky's Story
Lucky was born in a laboratory at a veterinarian teaching university. She must have thought that the world was one scary and hostile place.
She cannot share with anyone her experiences or tell us about the "experiments," and I'm not sure we want to know what she endured.
But one day, the "experiments" stopped. She was dubbed "Lucky" because she had survived. From the lab, she was sent to the SPCA and from there she went to a foster home.
She was adopted by our daughter & son-in-law 4 years ago. She learned, at age 5, to run, jump, and chase insects... all kinds of "cat things" that she could never do before. She learned that being picked up didn't mean something bad would happen. Most of all, she learned that there was an abundance of love in this world for a little lab cat named Lucky.

Visit Our Family Album

Jude's Writers Page

Erick's Home Page

SOME OF OUR FAVORITE LINKS

Waiting at Rainbow Bridge

Senior Canine Rescue Society

Hugs for Homeless Animals

© 1997 rhapsodyblu@earthlink.net






We have had visitors since our site officially opened on
September 20, 1997

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