When Amy married a biologist named Mark, she knew a few pets were likely in her future, but she had no idea the number and kinds of pets Mark had in mind. It began when Mark purchased an aquarium for his son, Conrad, to keep a few frogs in. Amy’s mistake was responding by catching flies with Conrad and cheering as the frogs jumped across the aquarium to the catch the flies. When the frogs were released, Mark bought Conrad two iguanas, which Amy also helped care for until Mark found them a permanent home.
Shortly thereafter, Mark saw an African pygmy hedgehog he said he wanted, and not only was Amy charmed by the prickly creature, she wanted a pal for the hedgehog so it wouldn’t get lonely. Mark took this to mean a male hedgehog and soon Louie, the male hedgehog from St. Louis, Missouri, became a member of the family. Louie escaped three times from his cage for flings with the female hedgehog, resulting in several unplanned litters of baby hedgehogs.
Amy’s positive response to hedgehogs opened the door to a ferret; soon there were four. The ferrets dug up house plants, climbed in and out of cupboards, ripped up tiny bits of carpet stole, and hid pens, Beanie Babies and shoes. The ferrets were joined by several mice, gerbils and hamsters, some of which were kept on the kitchen counter. A white frou-frou puppy named Dusty came next, followed by another puppy, Little Dipper, to play with Dusty. Of course, Little Dipper preferred long walks and snuggling over playing with Dusty.
In Something Furry Underfoot, Amy shares her unpredictable and humorous story about raising a variety of creatures that her husband, Mark, “always wanted” including:
* Sonic and Louie, the African pygmy hedgehogs.
* Chunky, the $1,200 ferret, and his three ferret pals, Rocky, Sox and Big Wuzzy.
* Dusty and Little Dipper, two dogs so spoiled they go on “pups vacations.”
* Purrkins, a stray cat who had fleas and lice.
* Magic, the rescue rabbit, who had fleas and ticks.
* Bumpkin, the domestic duck who took over the house, out-pecking the dogs and cat.
* Little Buddy and BOGO, two mynah birds, one of which was sent to Amy and Mark accidently.
While humorous throughout, Something Furry Underfoot shows how to raise, spoil, and love all sorts of feathery and fuzzy creatures. It also shows how Amy fell for each pet in turn. The story is sprinkled with tips about pets, some of which are specific such as Tip #13: Two ferrets are often better than one, but sometimes one is better than the other. Others give the readers an idea of what’s coming, such as Tip #28: It is important (although not easy) to know a boy gerbil from a girl gerbil. Other tips are universal to all pets, such as Tip #46: It’s always hard when pets die.
Four of the pets in Something Furry Underfoot are featured in children’s photo stories, each of which rhymes and tells the pet’s story from its point of view:
* Bumpkin Gets Big
* Purrkins, the Cat
* Dusty the Angel Pup
* Goodnight, Big Wuzzy.
Some proceeds from each of Amy’s animal books—Something Furry Underfoot and the four kids’ photo books—will be donated to animal rescue organizations.
Here’s what people are saying about Something Furry Underfoot:
“I enjoyed Something Furry Underfoot a lot. It was a fun read—not only because of the animal antics—but because it showed how the humans had to adapt to the animals’ quirks and needs.” – Joy V. Smith
“A charming story of Amy and Mark and the lucky critters that have passed through their lives over the years. Also a primer on animal care. All animals should be so lucky!” – Brenda Sayles
“What a fun book! I laughed, I cried, I was touched.” -Joyce C. King
“This book was fantastic and I didn’t want it to end. I truly enjoyed every part. I am going to be buying a couple of books at a time so that I can have them in my library collection for my grandkids and great-grandchildren.” – Cindy Garvey
