SUMMER 2016 READING CHALLENGE

[Rachel]

Dustin Crazy little brown owl wrote: "Congratulations! We have reached 200 posts/comments for the Summer Reading Challenge. We have not had this many comments in our Seasonal Reading Challenge Discussion Thread since 2013.

Thank you ..."

:D

[Rachel]

Have a happy and safe holiday weekend, everyone!

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

The Fall Reading Challenge has been posted on the Group Homepage & begins Wednesday September 7th :-)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I keep looking at all the Reading Challenge History showing posts & views and it's just fascinating to me. Our challenge with the most activity was FALL 2013 over 300 comments with 36 views. We only had 12 people in this discussion (the lowest ever) and yet we reached over 200 comments. We've done well kids. :-)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Jenn wrote: "Dustin I'm sorry to hear about Prada."

Thanks Jenn & Rachel.
African Pygmy Hedgehogs are the kind that are pets in the U.S. and their typical lifespan is 4-5 years. Prada was over 4 years old. I had her for nearly 3 years of her life. I started noticing her getting slower, less active in May. She was using her wheel less & I had to get her out of her habitat in order to keep her active. She went downhill fast in a matter of days at the end of July.

Since she is so small, I buried her in a large pot on my patio. I don't plan to get any new pets anytime soon. The commitment & the emotional connection is just not something I'm ready for. I still have Indie, my Telepathic Cat. I have a connection with him that I haven't had since my two dogs as a teenager. I personally prefer dogs but due to my work schedule, I can't have a dog right now.

I really love animals. Actually, I don't trust anyone who doesn't like animals. I once saw a meme floating around about visitors to your home who don't like animals - don't want cat or dog hair on their clothes and so the person offers to lock the visitor up in another room :-)

Anyway, Hedgehogs are really quirky pets, fun to watch, probably not the ideal pet for children, but I think the hogs are overall easy pets. They don't smell like rodents, they don't eat much (Prada just wanted cat kibble), don't require vaccinations, they will be fine if you are late getting home, they don't need a lot of bathing and rarely need to see a vet. It's just the initial setup & cost of the hedgehog and then you buy some bedding, give the hog fresh water & food, keep their cage clean. They are pretty simple creatures. I hadn't had a pet for a few years and the hedgehog was a great first pet after a break like that - they just aren't very cuddly and that is why I got a cat just one week later :-)

[Danell]

Enjoyed it when you posted pictures of Prada on Facebook and was saddened to hear of her loss. Losing a pet is dramatic.

I agree with you about people who don't like animals. When making a delivery and the customer has a dog who rushes to greet me I always talk to the dog and the customer also, need to know where they want their stuff.