Animal House

We have a dog named Ginger.  Her name doesn't fit her personality well.  Ginger is enormous, not fat just powerful and big.  She is a labrador/german sherperd mix, but looks more like a labrador.  Ginger has more energy than a 4 year old boy (we have tried to make comparisons with Elio's energy levels, but Ginger easily wins).  When my mom was here, she tried to teach Ginger not to jump on people, but mom would always come back with huge pawprints all over her shirt.  In the end, she decided it was best to do as the Mozambicans do and just ignore Ginger. 
Ginger also eats anything... I tell people this and they just sort of say, well, whatever, thinking she is like most puppies, but it's true: she eats almost EVERYTHING.  My brother Mark was incredulous when he visited.  Papayas, lemons, and yes, rocks.  Mostly she just chews on the rocks, but sometimes she actually swallows them.  The only thing she rejects is carrots.  But she does give them a little credit-- she chews on them.  My colleague's wife says this is a trait of Mozambican dogs.
We also have a cat named Oscar, and he hates Ginger more than anything in the world.  Ginger has, to her credit, tried to make friends with him.  She'll sniff him and lick him, but when we let Ginger in the house, the first thing she does is eat all his food.  This has not helped to create a friendly amicable relationship with Oscar.  So Oscar sits at the top of the gate and when Ginger gets near, he's ready to claw her face.  It's all premeditated. He's sitting on the gate waiting for her. 
We also had two chickens, but they didn't last long.  Ginger killed one, and when her friend Leo came over to play, he killed the other.  Leo is a bit old and tired, so we didn't think he had it in him, but when he sensed the chicken's presence, he got a resurgance of puppy energy and that was the end of the chicken. 

Photos below of kids, Ginger and her puppy friends at the beach...