I am such a freak for animals.  I love them all.  Big ones, little ones, even ratty ones.  Yes we do show them in 4-H as a matter of fact our last ratty friend was the State of Wyoming Reserve Champion pocket pet before he passed away from a spinal tumor.  Boo will be forever in our hearts and minds.

Meet Puff he is an adorable caramel rat that belongs to my daughter. Sorry for the blurry photo, do you have any idea how difficult it is to get a picture of a rat when it is playing?

Puff will be used for 4-H this year by my daughter.  he loves his food and is easily the more friendly of the two rats that we currently own.  He can be a bit of a nuisance though too.  Puff was the first to take food from my hand and typically try's everything before his brother will even consider it.

Mojo Jojo is Puffs brother.  He is a pretty laid back white rat that belongs to my son.  Mojo loves to be scratched behind his ears like any dog and will even give you some licks if you do it right.

Pets don't normally take to my son, but Mojo actually prefers to be held and loved by him.  As many times as I have tried I still haven't gotten him to give me the licks for the ear scratches.  He is a little less sure of his new environment and will always wait for Puff to take treats from me before he will try them.  I wonder if he is using Puff as the poison tester. 

Did you know that rats help keep the mice away?  It's true that mice will not live in the same place as rats.  Hubby is deathly allergic to cats so we can't have any indoor cats to keep the mouse population down so we keep a few rats.  They live in the basement in their cage and get to come out a few hours a day to play. 

And last, but certainly not lease we have our dog.  Every ranch needs a ranch dog though I think they are supposed to herd more than grasshoppers.  Bell Dandy is her official name, but we all call her Bell.  Last year she competed in the State of Wyoming Dog Show with my daughter.  They both placed really high especially with this being their first year.

I really messed up with the Agility though because they had her entered in the wrong class and I didn't catch it until it was too late.  Next year they will excel.  If not at least they can be happy knowing that they did their best.

Bell is a mixed breed dog.  She is half Shih-Tzu and half Shetland Sheep dog.  I think she is totally adorable.  She is so patient with the kids that it really surprises a lot of people.  You would think that with her being a small dog she would be a bit more protective of herself, but she would never do anything to hurt a child unless they try to take her egg away.

Bell has been in training for dog shows since she was born, but like all our animals, she is part of the family first and foremost.  My pets are like my children I love them all to death for their individuality and their charm.