Pets/Wildlife

Chloe and Luna are best friends and sisters through adoption. They love short walks and long stroller rides with mom. Their favorite treats are munchkins or puppuchinos from Dunkin’ Donuts. Chloe and Luna live the good life with the Cabral family in Land O’ Lakes.

Dana Rine, of Lutz, snapped this red-shouldered hawk that spent a good 10 minutes surveying the ground and trees around him for an afternoon snack.

Three-year-old Snickers, the miniature donkey (left), and 25-year-old Mini-Man, the miniature mule, are special because they love to hang out in their front yard reading their favorite books…when they aren’t busy munching on grass. They live with their librarian mother, Lori Brightwell, on 5 acres in Wesley Chapel, along with two rescue Labrador retrievers.

Nicole Magazu took this photo of a mallard duck with her ducklings at the pond behind her house. The mama duck was very protective of her little ones. When a little blue heron, ibis or any other bird walked by, mama would chase the birds away. Nicole and her husband, Frank, live in Land O’ Lakes, and say it’s very relaxing to watch the ducks swim in the pond.

Taz is 12-years young, and loves going on walks and opening presents, especially on Christmas. Taz was adopted from the Land O’ Lakes animal shelter at 7 weeks old. Taz is loved by her owners, Trinna and Ty Van Nostrand, of Land O’ Lakes.

Don Howard, of Meadow Point I in Wesley Chapel, takes quite a few photos of squirrels in his backyard. This one didn’t seem to mind posing for a snapshot.

Bandit is a 1-year-old Alaskan Malamute. His hobbies include chasing all of the birds out of the yard, digging in any hole he can find, devouring bones, and eating puppy ice cream on hot days. Bandit lives with his proud owners, Kelly and Matt Toomey, in Wesley Chapel.

Ashley Hessbrook, of Wesley Chapel, spotted this frog hanging out on her fence on a beautiful afternoon.

Mason is a 10-year-young Norfolk Terrier. His hobbies include barking at birds, trying to eat frogs, chasing lizards and working on his tan. He has the eyebrows of a wise old man. Mason lives with the MacKay family in Land O’ Lakes.

Marisol Fontanez snapped a photo of this turtle popping its head up out of the water, possibly to say hello, at the Blue Jay Mobile Home Park in Dade City.