Hello from Iowa!

I just discovered this website a few days ago and it's delightful! Pet people are the greatest.

I live in a small town in eastern Iowa. I'm a retired elementary school teacher and I'm active in community theatre. I share my home with my two shih tzus. My older dog is Oberon, who just celebrated his seventeenth birthday three weeks ago. My other dog is named 13; he will be two years old a month from yesterday. Both my dogs were director's gifts from shows I have directed. (I picked out the dogs, though.) Oberon is named for the character by that name in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and 13 is named after the all-teen musical by Jason Robert Brown, a show I directed in 2010 - he was a gift from that cast so I named him for the show.

They are both great dogs and although it was touch and go when 13 first came to live with us. Oberon is very patient and tolerant and laid back, but it took 13 several months to learn that Oberon does NOT like to have his tail pulled and he really can't play. They get along well now.

I've enjoyed very much reading about everyone's pets so I thought I'd better introduce myself and tell you a little bit about mine!

Steve

Welcome to Pet Talk, you sound like you'll fit right in here! For many years I had a neighbor who grew up in Iowa, and when I mentioned it one day to my mother, she told me "be nice, your great-grandfather came from there!" which I had not known!

Welcome to Pet Talk! I'm sure you will enjoy yourself!

Welcome, welcome! My sister works with a local high school theatre company and they did "13" two summers ago, that was my first experience with a Jason Robert Brown show.

I'm Elyse -- I live in the west suburbs of Chicago, I'm a nurse and I have one cat. Several of the neighbors in my building have dogs, though.

Welcome to PT - from one Shih Tzu lover to another. I have one little boy Shih Tzu named Sparky and he is 13 years old, and one little girl Pomeranian named Myndi who is 16 years old. My name is Ellie - I'm retired and I live in central Delaware with my 2 fur kids. Hoping you'll enjoy it here, and of course we all would love to see lots of pics of your 2 little furkids.