The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Pets/Wildlife

Biagio loves warm weather

By

Biagio is a 4-year-old puggle-bull mix that recently moved to Florida from Rhode Island. One of his favorite places to visit is the Honeymoon Island Dog Beach. Biagio’s proud owner is Susan Amalfitano of Land O’ Lakes.

Pasco Pupper Pirates

By

Boscia, Ozzie and Winston are on the high seas. Alfred Mattor and Lupita Salinas are new to Wesley Chapel, recently arriving from Kingston, New York. Ozzie (poodle mix) was rescued from Seattle; Boscia (red doxie) was rescued from New York; and, the newest furbaby, Winston (brindle piebald doxie) came from Pasco County Animal Services in Land O’ Lakes in March.  Winston was heartworm positive, but the staff at the shelter are working hard to treat him. The trio will ‘sea’ you out on the water!

Picking up the scraps

By

Sharon Thompson, of Wesley Chapel, found this winged friend eating bits of an ice cream cone in the parking lot at Seven Oaks Market Square. Birds seem to always be hanging around waiting for a morsel.

Mandy is a survivor

By

Mandy is a champion Australian Shepherd and was rescued when she was 9 months old. Mandy was beaten and abused if she barked or wanted to play. Her previous owner gave her limited food and water, and no toys. A neighbor convinced the man to give Mandy a chance at freedom. Bob Halczyn’s puppy needed a playmate, so when the puppy’s trainer told him Mandy’s story, he knew he had to make room for her in his family’s home and hearts. Today, Mandy is spoiled a little, eats well and plays in the yard. She loves her stuffed animals, daily walks, training and cuddling at night with her mommy. Mandy enjoys being part of the Halczyn family, of Wesley Chapel, who are blessed to have adopted such a sweet, beautiful, kind fur-baby.

Water play

By

Eddy Miranda, from Asbel Creek in Land O’ Lakes, took this diving dolphin shot off Anclote Key in the Tarpon Springs area. Miranda also captured this photo of an underwater manatee in Homossassa Springs.

A slithering reptile

By

Sandra Vann, of Lutz, saw this yellow rat snake crawling up a tree and snapped the photo from the boardwalk at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa.

Reptiles are cold-blooded animals that raise their body temperature by lying in the sun or lower it by crawling into the shade.

Spoonbills ‘feel’ for their prey

By

Sandra Vann, of Lutz, snapped a photo of this Roseate Spoonbill at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa. Some consider the spoonbill to be a gorgeous bird, at a distance, but bizarre up-close. Spoonbills feed in shallow waters, walking forward slowly while they swing their heads from side to side, sifting the muck with their wide flat bill, detecting prey by feel.

A skillful mimic

By

Sharon Thompson caught this mockingbird on a roof in Country Walk, down the street from where she lives, in Wesley Chapel. A mockingbird is ‘a skillful mimic and incorporates memorized phrases as part of its song.’ The bird can have dozens of songs in its repertoire, including an imitation of a frog or cricket. In just an hour of singing time, one mockingbird reportedly imitated 55 species of birds.

Miss Princess rules

By

One of five kittens in an alley cat’s litter, little Miss Princess is aptly named. Besides her gorgeous emerald green eyes, she is confident, serene and has a regal demeanor. Miss Princess loves to be outdoors and she reigns over all she sees. Curt Kibbe, of San Antonio, is her proud owner.