Pets/Wildlife

Kelsey Parker, of Wesley Chapel, has been in love with her boy, Luc, from the moment he was born on Sept. 2, 2017. Luc is a Pembroke-cardigan corgie and loves attention.

Valerie Sercu, of Wesley Chapel, found, rescued and celebrated the beauty of this juvenile mud snake found in her pool. When captured, a mud snake does not bite, but may press its pointed tail tip harmlessly into its captor.

Oreo the guinea pig was born last August and was adopted as an early Christmas present last November. She is a sweet guinea pig that received her name because of her hair color. Oreo is black on the bottom, white in the middle and black on top — just like an Oreo cookie. She is very similar to a cat, as she cleans herself, is litter trained and purrs when she is held. Oreo loves to sit on her male human’s lap while being brushed and held. When she gets excited, she runs around her cage and ‘popcorns.’ When cavies (the scientific name for guinea pig) get excited, they pop straight up in the air and run around. Oreo is a delight for her family, Rachel and Jack Tipton, of Wesley Chapel.

Steve Vinik and his wife frequently see a variety of birds in their Lexington Oaks community in Wesley Chapel, including sandhill cranes. The cranes have been known to take turns pecking birdseed from the Viniks’ bird feeder. Some of the sandhill crane’s favorite meal items include seeds, plant tubers, grains, berries and insects. Unlike other wading birds, sandhill cranes do not ‘fish.’

Hayate is about 5 years old and is a Shiba Inu, which means ‘brushwood dog’ in Japanese. His name means ‘swift breeze,’ which suits him since he can run like the wind! It was just Hayate and his human dad until they met a female Shiba Inu and her human mom at the dog park. Now they are all one family, and Hayate is living a dog’s life in Lutz with Dana Rine and Robert Stief.

Jennifer Cohn, a fourth-grade teacher at Seven Oaks Elementary School, found this curious, morning visitor near her home in Wesley Chapel.

Seamus is a 5-year-old English bulldog. Christa Boyle, of Land O’ Lakes, said Seamus likes to snuggle with his three owners – Christa’s daughters, Trinity, Leilani and Saoirse, of whom he is very protective. The bulldog also likes to play in the kitchen cabinets.

Marisol Fontanez snapped this photo of a blue jay in Dade City. Blue jays make a large variety of calls that carry long distances, and most calls are produced while the jay is perched in a tree. Acorns are one of this bird’s favorite foods.

Ellis is a 3-year old calico rescued from a laundromat when she was only a couple weeks old. She loves to cuddle and take naps with her mama and really is not into hanging around any other people. Ellis loves trying to chase things she can see outside from the window, such as lizards, bugs and leaves. Her favorite toys are laser pointers and anything that makes noise or moves (like her human owners). She goes crazy over her “nummies” (cat treats) or wet food. Ellis gets the “zoomies” between midnight and 5 a.m., her favorite time to run wild around the house while loudly meowing at the night. Ellis lives with Jordan Glogowski in Land O’ Lakes.

Lillian Cucuzza, of Land O’ Lakes, was excited to see a male Indigo Bunting (bright blue) and a female bunting in her backyard. Look for Indigo Buntings in weedy and brushy areas, especially where fields meet forests. These birds love edges, hedgerows, overgrown patches and brushy roadsides.