Pets/Wildlife

Nick Marek likes to watch the deer come through to play and graze in Eagle Island, in Lutz.

Lucy is 8 years old and full of energy. She is super playful and loves people of all ages. Lucy lives with her owner, Lisa Munoz, in Zephyrhills. Munoz feels very blessed to have this little one in her life.

Shirley Arnold snapped this photo of a great blue heron about to enjoy its catch, at Zephyr Park in Zephyrhills. Great blue herons wade slowly or stand statue-like when they are hunting. They stalk fish and other prey in shallow water or open fields. These birds use their strong bills to stab their prey with a lightning-fast thrust of the neck and head.

Attie has grown from a young pup into a 115-pound bundle of love. When she is tired, she grabs her binky (her chew toy) and climbs onto her dad’s lap for a nap on the couch. Who could say no to her face? Attie lives with Randy Jones in Dade City.

Steve Warrener, a teacher at Learning Gate Community School in Lutz, caught this rooster in the act, as it eagerly inspected the discarded and donated pumpkins that were collected as part of a compost project involving students at the school.

All dogs are special, but Trip is the champ. Nearing the golden age of 13, he has the spunk of a puppy that his owners fell in love with at first sight. Trip does his own shopping, even taking his purchase to the checkout where he waits for Dan and Pat Weaver to pay — which they gladly do as a reward for the good boy that he is. Trip lives in Dade City with the Weavers.

This gator was heading from the 12th hole to the 11th hole at the Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club. As he walked out from between two houses, he came face-to-face with a family of sandhill cranes. Generally when there’s a young crane involved, a gator will get very hostile and the cranes will get very defensive and go after the gator. However, in this case, all the actors in this drama left the stage in good shape. In fact, the cranes cleared the way to the water and the gator just followed. Stan Lukasiewicz and his wife are enjoying the wildlife to its fullest in San Antonio.

Fanny is a 16-year-old Siamese. Her name came from the fact that she was found caught in a fan belt of a car. Fanny was adopted by Lloyd Firestone, of Lutz, about 16 years ago from a veterinarian who took care of her. She has very soft fur and loves sitting outside on the lounge chairs.

This American kestrel and a grackle didn’t seem to mind sharing the same spotlight when Lillian Cucuzza, of Land O’ Lakes, found them perched side by side at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex on Collier Parkway.

About a month ago Bonnie Caston, of Zephyrhills, found out that her 6-year-old dachshund, Dutchess, needed to have both her eyes removed. Bonnie said Dutchess amazes her every day, going up and down the stairs, and going back to her spunky self. Dutchess’ motto is: ‘I may be blind, but I am not handicapped.’