Getting to know the Forrest family pets
Read on to learn more about the pets that run my household and my heart, and who are all certainly accompanying me while I write each blog post, and should probably be credited as editors.
Winnie:
Winifred, who goes by Winnie, is an 11.5 year old rescued German Shepherd supermutt. I adopted her in 2021, when she was 8 years old. She was originally living with a military family in Germany who decided to rehome her once they returned to the United States. Fun fact– Winnie has her own passport, and all of her vet records from before I rescued her are fully in German. She brought a light to my life that I have always needed, and she is the dog that made me a dog person. When I first brought her home, she was very barrier and leash reactive. This was something that we had to work very hard to get through, and she is still quite a cranky girl when she’s on her leash. Luckily for her, we recently bought a house with a back yard, so she doesn’t need to go out and about so often anymore. She absolutely loves a car ride, and sometimes demands to go into the garage just to sit in the backseat of the car. Winnie also has “Canine Cognitive Dysfunction”, or CCD, which is commonly referred to as “doggy dementia”. She has her cranky moments, but a nightly dose of gabapentin keeps her calm. She has been much happier and spunkier since getting her own backyard, but once we brought home Trouble in March of this year, she has just started to bloom. She loves to play with “her” baby, and she always makes sure to keep an eye on her when we all go outside.
Winnie’s Stats:
Birthday: December 10, 2013
Loves: Cheese, head scratches, barking
Hates: Taking a bath and getting her nails cut
Nickname(s): Mommy, Evil Winnie, Chunky Mommy
Mickey:
Mickey is a 3.5ish year old Golden Retriever who flunked out of service dog training for my husband for being too nervous and a little too friendly with strangers. He hates when his dad leaves, but also hates going with him when he leaves. He loves to sit his whole self on top of his favorite people, and if you’re really lucky, he’ll even suck on your arm like a weirdo. He loves to shred and tear things up, so plush toys are sure to be a goner with Mickey around. He also habitually burps in either my or my husband’s face (or both sometimes) after each meal he eats. We often find ourselves saying “Mickey loves his routines”, and it’s true!
Mickey’s Stats:
Birthday: October 22, 2021
Loves: Digging, dinner, friends coming over
Hates: Getting in the car, getting in his crate, dad leaving his sight, thunder
Nickname(s): Michael, Mippy, Evil Mickey
Simon:
Simon is a nearly 2 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and he is the biggest sweetheart in the world. He has the biggest, most expressive eyes you’ve ever seen, and he makes sure you see them. My intention when I got him was to have him be a therapy dog for clients down the line, and maybe a service dog for myself eventually. He isn’t a therapy dog officially yet, but the only steps left in this process are to pass a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test, and register with an agency. He has also shaped up as an excellent service dog for me, and he picks up new tasks like a snap– learning is very fun for him! I like to say that he doesn’t have a single thought in his head that I didn’t place in there very carefully, and I think that’s very true. He doesn’t love to go out and about though, so he stays home most of the time, but he is my biggest helper. He seems to think being groomed is very relaxing, because he falls asleep while I trim between his paw pads every time! He is very soft and fluffy, and he definitely wants you to pet him.
Simon’s Stats:
Birthday: June 4, 2023
Loves: Snuggling, chewing, fetch, ice cubes, mom
Hates: Getting scolded, sharing personal space (unless it’s his idea), monthly heartworm preventative pills
Nickname(s): Lewis, Mr. Weiner, Tiny Boy, Lewy
Trouble:
Trouble is the newest addition to our family; we brought her home in early March of this year (2025). Though she’s only been with us for about a month, it is so clear that she was the missing piece waiting to complete our family! She is fun, goofy, and eager to learn. She has picked up each command immediately, and she walks perfectly on a loose leash already (for now– we’ll see what adolescence brings us). She’s gorgeous, and a total joy to bring out and about. She stayed with her breeder until she was about four months old, and they did such an excellent job with socializing her. She has an impressive ability to settle in loud and busy environments– a perfect Colorado brewery dog! I can’t wait to see what the two of us accomplish during our adventures together; I think she’s going to excel in dog sports.
Trouble’s Stats:
Birthday: November 5, 2024
Loves: Playing in water, walkies, getting dirty, fetch
Hates: Taxidermy javelinas, being still, being bathed
Nickname(s): Tubble, Miss T, Trundle, Troublet, Tubby
Milo:
Milo was my first ever pet that was just mine, and he’s my real ride or die. I got him when I was in the eighth grade, and he’s been with me ever since. He has seen me experience my highest highs and my lowest lows, and I don’t think I could have made it this far without him. He has been the constant in my life that I’ve always craved, and I don’t think his kitty brain could understand how much I appreciate him for all of that. When we first moved up to Colorado, I thought he would never forgive me for making him ride in the car for 16 hours (spread out over two days) and making him sleep in a hotel. He was so pissed in the backseat of my car that despite the heavy sedatives the vet prescribed him, he still managed to nearly gnaw through his carrier. During this trip, he also bit me so hard that his teeth punctured through my pinkie– from the nail all the way through my finger tip. We were mutually mad at each other for a while, but we’re cool now. Usually.
Milo’s Stats:
Birthday: August 28, 2015
Loves: Tuna, cat gogurts, bugs, chewing on plastic
Hates: Car rides, late dinner, strangers
Nickname(s): Candace, Milosh (literally only my mom calls him this and she says it in a russian accent), Mario
Cabbie:
Cabbie is a creature. She has extra toes on both of her front paws, and her front legs are quite bowed. Her tail is short, but I am not sure if it was always like that, or if something happened to her. She also has a pretty much constant flow of boogers or slime leaking out of her nose and her eyes. Apparently this is because she (and many other shelter cats) had a lot of chronic upper respiratory infections before I adopted her in 2021. At her annual vet visits, they always reassure me that she’s fine, and it clearly doesn’t bother her, so we just let the girl be nasty. She sort of looks like if a bulldog was a cat. I know it seems like I make fun of her and I’m mean, but I promise that I find all of her quirks and weirdness to be very endearing and charming. I remember the first time I saw her photo on the shelter website and immediately fell in love. I picked her up the same week! She loves to go outside, so we are working on building a catio for her off of our basement. For the time being, we take her outside on a leash every so often.
Cabbie’s Stats:
Birthday: October 10, 2017
Loves: Rolling on concrete, canned food, scheming and plotting
Hates: Nail trims, car rides, being picked up against her will
Nickname(s): Cablet, Cabbie Tat, Cabberd, Nasty, Stinky, Cabitha
