Pets/Wildlife

Prince is about a year old and loves water, going outside, playing with his sister, and playing with cat toys. He was found on the side of the road and given to his owner. Prince was very little, but healthy. He has a sister named Duchess, a Maltese-Pomeranian, who is his best friend. Prince’s proud owner is Abigail Wicker and her family, of Lutz.

Randall Grantham, of Lutz, has a cat named Skeeter that has a habit of bringing him captured or deceased ‘prizes.’ If it is a rat, it is usually dead. However, with other species, Skeeter somehow gets them to the doorstep fairly unharmed. He has delivered live lizards, swamp rabbits, flying squirrels, and even the fuzzy critter known as a round-tailed muskrat, a species common to the wetlands in the area.

Lottie is an 8-year-old Labrador Retriever. She is an ‘ambassador of goodwill’ in her neighborhood, as she always greets passersby with a wagging tail and a roll over onto her back to elicit a good belly rub! Lottie likes other dogs, but prefers people company. A little bit sneaky, she enjoys slinking onto her owners’ bed after they have fallen asleep for the night. Lottie owns Gary and Barb Clark, of Land O’ Lakes.

Ritchel Klingensmith found this worm on a tomato bush. Tomato hornworms can’t sting, and the caterpillars are harmless to humans and can be picked off plants without danger.

Duchess is a Maltese Pomeranian. She is about 3 years old and loves belly rubs. Duchess knows how to sit, stay and lay down. She enjoys playing, going on daily walks, meeting new people/dogs and hanging out with her brother, Prince, the cat. Her favorite food is sliced turkey, and she stands on her hind legs and begs for it whenever she can. Duchess is part of the Wicker family of Lutz.

‘Wild’ peacocks (also known as muster) have lived in Stuart Drawdy’s neighborhood for years, and now includes an albino. These two were spotted in front of a paint store on Wesley Chapel Boulevard, by Dollar General, in Wesley Chapel. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it receives dozens of calls from residents about peacocks across the state, but the state considers them domestic birds, like chickens, and not wild birds.

Brandy is a Belgian Malinois shepherd/terrier mix. Her owners brought her home in August of 2016. She was a cute puppy then, and she has grown in to a real beauty. Brandy is big on athletics, and loves running, jumping (leaping off the sofa), tug of war, and long walks every morning on the boulevard. Don and Phyllis Cera, of Wesley Chapel, are Brandy’s proud owners.

 

Michele Connolly submitted this photo that her son, Ethan Connolly, took of a northern bobwhite (also known as a bobwhite quail and Virginia quail) on the family’s property, in Dade City.  Ethan is 12 years old and loves taking pictures of wildlife. Northern bobwhites live in open pine forests, overgrown fields, shrubby areas and grasslands.