Mia and Dakota are both rescued pitbulls that came into my life in very different ways. Mia, a chocolate pitbull, was rescued from a chain (attached to a stop sign) where she was left for dead five years ago.

At less than 1 year old, she was very dog aggressive when she came home with me, but with a lot of leadership and patience, she is now a model for balance in our home. (more…)

Simon Turbeville is a 20-pound tabby who loves Fancy Feast, Ranch dressing and watching the world from his windowsill. Simon loves visitors and is quick to roll over and show off his belly for his favorite guests. At about 5 years old, Simon is an overgrown kitten who’s prone to nervousness when it rains and when his food dish is approaching empty. His favorite creature is Annabel the Cat, who taught him how to use a litter box and that can food is good. He likes to play with JoJo the Dog, who delights in chasing him all over the house and sticking her long nose in his fluffy ears. — Submitted by Krisha Williams Turbeville, Redfield

Snuggles Finley is a 7-year-old Jack Russell-Chihuahua mix. She came into my life as a package deal when I met my husband, when she was just a pup. At first, Snuggles was pretty upset that I was detracting her daddy from her attention and let me know it — she covered my arms in bites and scrapes. But soon we grew to be buddies, and I dare say that now she prefers to cuddle up with me. Poor Snuggles recently suffered the injustice of losing everyone’s attention once again when her human little sister came along into the family, but they are getting to be good buddies. One of Little Sister’s favorite things to do is to give “Nuggles” a treat, so that makes up for quite a bit. Snuggles’ favorite activities include sleeping on the couch or bed, begging like a prairie dog for human food and running in the yard with her best dog friend, Ella.

JoJo is convinced he’s an 85-pound lap dog. Seriously. More than once, I’ve been sitting in a chair or on the couch when suddenly, he decides he wants to be close — real close. His weight quickly crushes my stomach, making it difficult to breathe until I give him a few quick rubs behind his ears before pushing him down. Even though he was dumped in a remote part of Greenbrier when he was around 9 months old (he weighed more than 60 pounds even then), JoJo is a people dog. He’s now 5 or 6, likes company and goes out of his way to greet strangers. There’s the rub. While people who know more about it than I do figure JoJo is likely a Great Dane/hound mix, the bottom line is that he’s a big, mostly black dog with white socks and a white band of fur around his neck. Oh, and the tip of his tail is white, too. Taking him on walks in Little Rock’s River Market can be a lot of fun. He minds well and doesn’t tug on his leash. When people — especially children — see him trotting beside me, I can tell they aren’t sure what to think. But, it never fails, someone, usually a toddler whose head barely reaches JoJo’s shoulder, starts reaching out to him, I smile, look at the parent to gauge their reaction and, if they say it’s OK, kneel down as the child touches JoJo. Usually, the child’s eyes open wide when JoJo turns to give them a lick with his big pink tongue. Older kids usually want to know his name, ask whether he bites (no) and how much he eats (a lot). JoJo stands steady and patient as the hands glide on his fur. Sometimes, I have to caution the kids to watch out for his huge tail as it thumps back and forth with all the attention. After a few minutes, I continue on our walk, with the kids typically shouting thanks to me and good-bye to JoJo. — Submitted by Glen Chase, Conway

Koda is a 7 1/2 month old very sweet but spunky Rottweiler, or Rottenweiler as we like to call her. We got Koda when she was 2 months old for my daughter on Valentine’s Day. She was a testy puppy at first and tried to be the alpha dog of our house. We were careful to teach her not to bully. But she has always loved to be right by someone. Now she is a 56-pound LAP DOG who loves for you to throw her ball in the back yard and get her belly rubbed. But her favorite activity is playing in water. She absolutely loves to play in my daughter’s pool with her, play in the sprinkler or just play in the water from the hose as we are trying to water. We are rottie lovers and have had 2 Rotties in the past. My daughter grew up with our last Rottie, Shelby, who we lost to cancer. This broke our hearts, but especially my daughter’s. She just turned 5 at the time. We waited over a year and decided to surprise her with Koda. — Submitted by Kristina Hanry