JULIUS (SILLY PHOTOS)
When Lauren Diettert moved into her Minnehaha area house in 2017, she quickly realized that her neighborhood encompassed a whole colony of cats. Feeling compassion for the homeless residents, Diettert started feeding the furry creatures. Diettert is sure she is the only person who has gotten to know the cats, as many of the neighbors don't enjoy the unique residents. So, with the help of her sister, as well as Pet Savers and Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS), she got the cats spayed or neutered and vaccinated.
Sweet and silly Julius, a tabby named after the popular Orange Julius drink, was the first of the neighborhood cats who warmed up to Diettert.
"He still purrs every time I talk to him, and sometimes he purrs so hard, he almost sounds like he is wheezing," Diettert says. Julius has a clockwork schedule — waiting on the back patio every morning for breakfast and a fresh water dish, relaxing in one of his many favorite daytime nap spots as well as hunting for bugs and mice in the great outdoors around the neighborhood. He finishes off the day by greeting Diettert in the driveway when she comes home from work.
In the summertime, Julius loves to bask in the sun. One day, Diettert was outside doing yard work when she spotted the loveable tabby cat lounging in a hilarious belly-up position. "It looked like he was recovering from a hard day at work or having an existential crisis," she says.
Julius has many amusing qualities such as enjoying the rain, racing through the snow and becoming extremely playful after some catnip. Julius also has an attached-at-the-hip best friend named Sandy. They practically do everything together from eating to hunting to cuddling.
The furry dynamic duo lights up Diettert's life, and she wants them to know that although they do not have a "house," they most certainly have a home with her. Julius and Sandy inspired Diettert to help other cats with lost causes. She and her sister have now helped spay, neuter and vaccinate well over 300 cats since 2018. According to Diettert, it's her life's passion. "They may not be pets, but all of these cats are unique, special and deserve to have the best shot at life possible," she says.
TANZIE (OUTDOOR ADVENTURE PETS)
Double J Dog Ranch happens to house a lot of cattle dogs. When Shawna Sampson saw a precious video of a deaf 5-month-old Aussie-heeler mix, she knew she had to meet the puppy. After a meet-and-greet, the shelter allowed Sampson, like other potential adopters, to bring her chosen pet home so she could see what owning a special needs dog is like. If adopters decide they don't want the dog, the shelter welcomes the animal back with open arms.
However, when Sampson first saw Tanzie (named after the owner's recent trip to Tanzania), the dog ran to her, and Sampson immediately fell in love with her exuberant personality.
"She's a dog that really just lives big, she loves big, and she plays big," Sampson says.
Tanzie fit right in with her older adopted sibling, a 10-year-old rescue Yorkie mix. As a deaf dog, all of Tanzie's other senses are heightened, so she's very aware of what is going on around her. Teaching Tanzie sign language has been relatively easy for Sampson.
The Aussie-heeler mix loves accompanying her owner on frequent trail runs around Spokane. On one outing, Tanzie found a random tennis ball and ended up running with it in her mouth for at least half of the excursion. "She's ball-obsessed. So she loves nothing more than a tennis ball," Sampson says. Sometimes on trail runs, Tanzie will even pick up and toss around nature's tennis balls — pinecones.
"I think every day with her is fun. Because she's so she's just so affectionate and funny. And she's a joy to be around," Sampson says.
Life with Tanzie has been so good that Sampson decided to adopt another special needs dog from Double J Dog Ranch — a 3-year-old border collie named Scarlet who has orthopedic deformities. Scarlet already enjoys running with Tanzie. Unsurprisingly, Sampson is an advocate for adopting special needs pups.
"They really only add joy to your life. They can do anything a regular dog can do. And they need love just like other dogs," she says.
BUBBLES (COLD BLOODED)
Kristi Edwards never went searching for a pet axolotl. But when she found out a coworker with the unique pet was moving to California, a state where the creature is illegal, she decided to take the pet on as her own.
On Thanksgiving weekend of 2020, Edwards brought home Bubbles the axolotl, a rare type of salamander that doesn't go through metamorphosis. Bubbles prefers to live alone as axolotls are known for nibbling on each other's gills and limbs (although they do grow back). But he loves his personal aquarium and spends most of his time swimming at the bottom of his tank.
Edwards loves that Bubbles is a low maintenance pet. "He's quiet, he doesn't shed, he can be left alone all day if needed, and he only eats every other day," she says.
All Bubbles requires is his axolotl pellets, which are made from earthworms and bloodworms, as well as a regular cleaning and water changes for his 36-gallon tank.
Edwards finds it endearing that Bubbles loves to interact with her cat, who sits on a chair near the tank.
"He likes to come out and swim around in front of her, she will meow and paw at the glass," Edwards says.
It's not just Edwards and her cat who admire her Bubbles, it's 425 others too! Bubbles has his own Instagram account @bubblesaxolotl where Edwards posts oodles of cute photos and videos of her fun and interesting pet.
TINKERBELL (COSTUME CONTEST)
In 2014, Candace Martin ventured to a cat rescue in Columbus, Ohio. After perusing the shelter animals for a bit, a volunteer came up to Martin and explained, with great seriousness, that there was a cat the potential adopter had to meet. The volunteer rushed Martin over to the "shy cats" room where she met the timid Tinkerbell who was hiding even from the other shy cats.
Before arriving at the shelter, Tinkerbell had a hard life. She was abandoned at 6 years old, adopted, then returned because she jumped on the counter too much. But when the Persian cat looked up at Martin with her big green eyes and started purring, Martin immediately knew Tink was the cat for her.
And Martin found that the furry feline was the sweetest, most loving cat; together they've lived in Ohio, Colorado, Washington and Idaho. Although she is tiny, she has the loudest purr that sometimes starts even when just looking at her. Tink loves to snuggle, and when her owner is having a bad day, Tinkerbell seems more persistent than normal, purring up a storm. She also loves to announce her presence with a little meow that Martin finds adorable.
Tinkerbell is also remarkably communicative. When Martin and her family are eating, Tink will raise one paw which means she's politely begging for food. "When I'm petting her, she will sometimes put her paw on me and move it, almost like she's petting me back," says Martin.
When it comes to costumes, Tinkerbell doesn't seem to mind them, but Martin is sure to keep her in one for only a few minutes. When her owner came across the monster costume at the pet store, she knew Tink would look darling in it. But she also thought it would be creative and silly to have the costume juxtaposed with the sweet cat's demeanor. According to Martin, Tinkerbell is anything but a monster. Her photogenic qualities have also led her to a fan base account @persian_tinkerbell of at least 17,000 cat lovers on Instagram.
"Having a bond like this with a pet feels like it happens once in a lifetime," says Martin. ♦
