I live with the Dog Whisperer!

Most of you know that Lewis, our Rotti-mix, was my dog before I met Andrew. He lived the lavish life of a spoiled, only-dog! He ate my food, slept in my bed, walked in my house like he was the king of the castle. Trained?... not in the traditional sense, but super smart and obeyed me for the most part. When Drew came along, Lewis realized quickly that not only would he be sharing my affections with a human, but also MANY, MANY other animals.

Lewis has been a "loner" from the day I met him. He's in love with me (and I him), will be my protector til the day he dies, but he loves his freedom (he's walked many a night through the streets of Kirkwood) and can honestly be considered a street-smart dog. Moreover, he's not the friendliest of animals. He's been known to "nip" a person or two, has killed several rodents and squirrels, and I have seen him literally grab a bird flying in thin air and eat it for breakfast. And don't even get me started on his hate-hate relationship with cats!

Still, as the title suggests, Lewis met the Dog Whisperer when Andrew became his father! Lewis realized that he wasn't in charge anymore and became trained, Drew-style. Never in my life did I think Lewis would get along with another male dog, but with Andrew's guidance, Lewis and General (our boxer that has since passed) became best buddies. And now, Lewis lives with Barnibus (our Great Dane) and Lola (our Maltese-Poodle mix) and tolerates both of them quite well. I only say "tolerates" because I know in his soul he'd much prefer to be the only pet in the house, but he does enjoy their company. He plays with Barnibus and lets Lola run around him in circles. Never has there been any fighting - and if you knew Lewis before, you would call that a miracle alone. Now, the pictures you are about to see go beyond a MIRACLE.

Tweak, our Solomon Island Eclectus (parrot), came to be a part of our zoo a couple years ago now. He was 'raised' inside with Lola and the two of them have a special relationship. Tweak knows and mimics every single one of Lola's sounds and barks. It's freaky, actually. Tweak now lives outside year-round in a pretty large cage. He also enjoys a ton of time outside of the cage and hangs out in the backyard as he wishes. Andrew brings him out when the boys (Lewis and Barnibus) are playing and helps them understand that Tweak is a part of the family even though he doesn't live inside with us. Still, I've always been nervous to let Tweak out with the boys unsupervised - I remind you, I have SEEN Lewis kill!

Yesterday, we caught this on camera - something I never in my life would imagine possible... Tweak and Lewis were loving on each other!!! Andrew is the Dog Whisperer - I am a believer. Now, when do we get our reality series?