Adopting Animals

Before we came back to Ecuador, I promised my husband, Byron, that I wouldn't accumulate as many animals as last term. We had 5 dogs, 3 cats, 15+ fowl, fish, and I don't remember what else. It was a lot. When we arrived, we had one dog that someone was taking care of for us. One.

Two months later, we now have 4 dogs, 1 kitten, 1 fish, 6 chickens, and 50+ soon-to-be butterflies.

These are our two newest arrivals. Aw. I just can't resist!

Candy is a female, large breed of dog. We saw her one day just up our road a little. We threw her a piece of bread and went home. A few days later, my mother-in-law told us that she saw a skeletal dog at the bus stop (a few miles from our house). I just knew that it had to be the same one. My husband hummed the theme song to Paw Patrol as my mother-in-law, the kids, and I drove off in our truck to rescue her. A dog that thin and still alive deserves a second chance. We coaxed her into the car with some bread and my mother-in-law gave her a little extra shove. Thankfully, she's very nice and gentle. A month later, she looks like this:

This is Jingle Bell, a small male kitten who spent about a week meowing outside our house. We caught him twice and he ran away again twice. The third time, he stayed. Now he's everyone's favorite.