Pets/Wildlife

Cookie is a 6-year-old Brahma chicken. She loves to eat worms and get into the garden. According to the Livestock Conservancy, the Brahma chicken is often referred to as the ‘King of all Poultry’ because of its great size, strength and vigor. Cookie lives with Daniella McClutchy in Lutz.

Marisol Fontanez snapped this photo of a hawk in her backyard at the Blue Jay Mobile Home Park in Dade City.

Bella is a 14 year-old purebred miniature dachshund. She was rescued when she was 2 years old from a backyard breeder who kept her in a cage all the time. Bella was very shy and scared at first, but over the years, she has learned to trust and love. Bella has taught her owners patience and acceptance. She has slowed down in her old age, but she is healthy and likes to walk in the yard and sleep in her soft bed. At dinnertime, Bella gets very excited, and squeals and jumps around while she waits for food in her bowl. Bella lives with her parents, Sarah and Paul Jackson, in Land O’ Lakes.

Janna Rolfe saw this gopher tortoise while on a walk in Meadow Pointe. Because these tortoises are a threatened species, Rolfe said she was delighted to see one.

Samoa (light-colored boy) and Fiji (tiger-striped girl) both were discovered, years apart, under a loading dock of a warehouse in South Florida, where Char Vinik worked. Samoa’s mother is Fiji’s grandmother. The loading dock seemed to be a safe place for stray cats to have their litters, but Samoa needed to be rescued from the nearby trash bin by office staff before collection day. Fiji was rescued when she was a tiny baby and needed to be bottle fed. Char and Steve Vinik are fortunate they could give these two a good home, and are thankful for their company and affection. Samoa and Fiji like to lounge on the patio furniture and now with the Viniks in Wesley Chapel.

On a recent windy day, Max Rathman found this tiny Cuban tree frog clinging to a leaf on one of the plants in his front yard. This kind of tree frog can be 1.5 inches to 3 inches long, and it typically eats beetles, roaches, spiders and other small invertebrates.

Layla is a 5-year-old Jack Russell-Beagle mix, although her beautiful and unique markings remind her owners of a Blue Heeler-Beagle mix. Layla was adopted from Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue. When she wants to, Layla can be very energetic. She loves to go for long walks, snuggle, and go for car rides. Layla’s favorite foods are scrambled eggs and cheese. She likes to play fetch (although she doesn’t like to give her toys back), and she’s always happy to go outside. Layla is very well-behaved and loves to be the center of attention. Layla lives with the Elam family in Wesley Chapel.

Bella is a 9-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier rescue mix. There is no shortage of kisses from this canine cutie. Bella loves to greet the neighbors as they walk by the house, and she has even tried to go home with food and mail delivery drivers. She loves to go fishing on the dock with her doggie daddy. And, she loves to play with her toys, run in the nature preserve and visit the pet shop afterwards to select her own, new toy. Bella lives with her doggie parents, Bob Colberg and Paula Means, in Lutz.

Sharon Thompson witnessed this great blue heron fishing for and catching its lunch in Country Walk in Wesley Chapel. Herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds. Some are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons.

Sydney is a 4-year-old Australian shepherd that loves her family, her tennis ball, and swimming in her pool. Sydney was adopted while her family was stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia. She now resides in Lutz with the Cahill family – Nicole, Darby, Patrick and Colin.