The Adventures of Renee-Squared: Our Love of Animals

For those of you who are new to this blog, let me give you a little bit of background on my life. I am currently in a three-year relationship with my amazing girlfriend. We moved from Boston to Los Angeles about a year and a half ago and have been enjoying the sunshine and the gorgeous weather ever since. Now here's the clincher: we both share the same name. That's right, kids, we're one of those same-named, same-sex couples that you always hear people talking about (but you've probably never met). People always ask us if it's weird to be dating someone who has the same name and our answer is "not really". If you think of all the times you actually say your partners name in a day, it's actually way less than you think. Now, of course, if they are further away than ear-shot and you want to get their attention, than you'll probably have to shout their (your) name out, which is kind of a strange feeling, but I've become so accustomed to it, it's like second nature to me. And no, we don't say our own names in bed. If you want to know the full story on how we met, you can click here. If you want to know more about what it's like dating someone with the same name (and all the nicknames that come with it), click here.

One thing about Renee and I is that we love animals, especially cats. In fact, we have a weakness for them. We usually go to a shelter at least once a month and try to give the eagerly-awaiting kitties some love and attention. If we lived on a large farm, it would be hard for us to resist adopting each and every one of their squishy little faces, but since we actually live in a 1 bedroom in Los Angeles, that would probably not be a good idea.

Renee and I moved out to LA with our three rescued young cats, Bandit, Buddha and Baby (we're big fans of alliteration). Only three short weeks after moving here, Bandit, my sweet two-year-old tiger-striped tabby who I had rescued when he was only 5 weeks old, went missing. Renee and I spent countless hours scouring the neighborhood, posting flyers, visiting local shelters and posting notices on craigslist to try to find him again. Unfortunately, it's been over a year and I never did find him, I just hope that he is safe and maybe some nice family took him in and spoiled him rotten with endless amounts of tuna and catnip.

After Bandit's absence, it was just Renee-squared, Baby and Buddha. Then we happened upon a tiny chihuahua/terrier mix puppy, who was in desperate need of a home. We took him in, named him "Little Caesar" and discovered the he was covered, from head to toe, in fleas and ticks. If there's one thing about LA that really makes my heart hurt, it's the propensity for people here to treat their animals so carelessly. People don't spay/neuter their animals nearly enough, and the amount of stray and "thrown-away" pets is heart wrenching. The shelters are over-flowing and most of them are high-kill due to the sheer volume of cats and dogs that come in; to see all those furry little guys, already red-listed, begging you to take them home is sometimes more than one can bear.

Anyway, back to Caesar; soon after we rescued him, he became severely anemic from being dumped in a box out in the heat of LA. When you only weigh as much as a quarter-pounder from McDonalds, and you're covered in ticks, really puts a damper on your blood circulation and your overall health. Long story short, two blood transfusions, a near-death experience and lots of TLC later, we now have one very happy, healthy and ridiculously energetic 10 month old puppy (who thinks he's a cat).

This long-winded story leads me to our newest rescue adventure: two 5 week old siamese kittens who were abandoned in a residential neighborhood in North Hollywood. After a check-up with the vet and their first round of shots, the brother and sister pair were deemed healthy and ready to go home and meet their rather large new family: enter Bonsai and Lily to the Reneesquared family. It's been a month since we brought the two home and we are happy to report that Bonsai and Lily are the sweetest, most adorably playful kittens ever. We are also happy to report that all five of our animals (Baby, Buddha, Bonsai, Lily & Caesar) all get along better than we could ever have imagined.

It's amazing how much love emulates from a home with animals. I never could understand, much less relate to people who don't love animals. There is something incredible about bringing an animal into your home, bonding with them, and seeing that look of unconditional love in their eyes no matter how grouchy you are or how bad of a day you had at work. An animal doesn't judge you, it doesn't hold preconceived notions and it certainly doesn't hate. I just loves you, 24 hours a day, 365 days a week and as long as you treat it well, feed it and give it lots of love and attention, it will be always be happy, healthy and lots of fun.

I got my degree in Zoology/Animal Behavior with the dream that I could someday become an animal therapist. Renee got her degree in Psychology and loves helping people. Someday, we hope to open a Holistic healing center, where she can practice transpersonal psychology and we can offer holistic services to people like Reiki, acupuncture, animal therapy, hypnotherapy and other ways to help them deal with their problems on a deeper, more spiritual level.

I've put together a little photo montage of all five of our animals, for your viewing pleasure, including a funny video clip, entitled "How to Keep your Kittens Busy" starring Little Caesar, Bonsai and Lily.




Lily and her baby blues

Bonsai is a very vocal kitten

How can you resist these faces??


A simple shoelace can provide hours of entertainment

Caesar thinks he's a kitty too


Baby and Buddha: Glamor Shots

A false sense of identity: Objects in mirror are LARGER than they appear. Sorry buddy.

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

Buddhalicious

Caesar knows when he's been a bad boy

Baby and Buddha, the laziest cats in the world

"I look goooood"

Baby, the elusive stalker kitty

Big brother, little brother (from another mother)

A face only a mother could love

Baby, into the latest kitty fashion: Moon Boots

Baby and Buddha in the kitten days


Caesar is the best dressed pup on the block


Do you have a great pet story? Send us your pet stories from loving, touching, funny and everything in between. We'll post them on Lesbiatopia for everyone to read!

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