All Creatures May/June 2021

I WAS CHATTING WITH another mom in the school pickup line (pre-pandemic). “Charlie’s my oldest,” I said, nodding at my beagle mix, who was along for the walk. “But he’s just a dog,” the other mom said. That’s not how I see it. I adopted Charlie as a puppy, and he was the first living, breathing being that I was responsible for. He needed to learn to trust that I would provide for him. He needed someone to teach him how to treat others. He needed to understand right from wrong. He needed to feel loved and cared for. He needed to grow into his own personality, explore the world and discover new things while someone was there cheering him on. Me, his mom. I always wanted to be a…

In March 2019, golden retriever puppy Dug was the new kid on the block at the Earle homestead in Burnt Hills, New York. A few weeks later, the family built a coop and filled it with eight chickens. Curious, Dug walked right over, wagged his tail and lay down, pressing his fluffy body against the pen. Most of the chickens stayed away—except one. The curious hen stuck her head out, touched Dug’s nose and plopped down next to him. A friendship was born. Duggy’s Buddy, as she’s called, clucks and looks for her canine pal to approach. Dug brings her branches that he pokes through the wire. Kristen Earle says, “She pecks at the leaves while Dug chews on the branch,” sharing toys like best friends do. As for their…

My boyfriend and I take a trip to the beach every summer. The warm sand, salty air, shimmering water—God’s beautiful creation. Last year, because of Covid-19, we stayed closer to home and rented a cabin in elk country. One morning, we came across a bull in a field. It took my breath away. What a majestic sight! And a reminder that God is everywhere.…

This protective mama keeps her babies by her side, and when humans get too close she stomps her hooves in warning. —Katie Calautti Izzy adores our foster kittens. She watches over them like a mother—and brings them along on her adventures! —Allison Ilcken This is Lucy with her first baby. She’s a wonderful mama, always tending to her little one. Every time I look at them together, I see the love between them. —Crystal Sands I recently got two rescue kittens. They’re not related, but Martha Carson (right) looks after Kitty Wells like any nurturing parent would. —Kimberly Elkins Hope (right) turns into the party police when Charlie Buck (left) and Abby Grace get too rambunctious. One glance from Hope and they calm down. —Caroline Walker Coleman Ever since Jeff…

TO SOME, caring for stray cats may seem like a lot of work. But for Calvin Tucker, who feeds about 90 felines all over the Birmingham, Alabama, area, it’s his ministry. Rain or shine, Calvin visits 14 locations every day, putting out food and water. He also performs catch and release. In the last four years, he’s delivered more than 650 stray cats to vets he works with to be spayed or neutered. Calvin never imagined he’d be a cat person, let alone a cat advocate. He grew up around deadly violence in Bessemer during the ’80s and he liked dogs, not cats. “I somehow navigated that dangerous time,” he says. “I didn’t know then why I was spared. But God said, ‘Watch this’ and sent Henry along.” Calvin found…

AS A TODDLER, I was drawn to animals, especially dogs. Unfortunately my mother was afraid of animals, so I was never allowed to have pets. I made up for that as an adult. I rescued my first dog, a bearded collie named Buffie, when I was in my late thirties and I haven’t been without a dog since. I threw Buffie elaborate birthday parties. Cody, a bearded collie mix who adored his stuffed animals, joined the family in 1994. Then Petfinder led me to Molly, a beardie/briard I nicknamed Ponytail Ears. By 2006, all three dogs had passed away, but a beardie stray named Spencer came along soon after. The squirrels had no chance against him! A year later, I rescued Lucy, who looked like a mini beardie. Sadly, they…