Meet Johnny and June (yes—as in Johnny and June Cash!), also known as “June Bug” and “Murr.” These four-and-a-half month old kittens belong to Sacramento SALT receptionist Sheryl Burns and her husband, Jordy. After the loss of their Labrador Retriever, Raven, in July (previously featured as the February 2017 SALT Pet of the Month), they debated on whether to get another dog. A few months later, a friend at the local animal shelter contacted Sheryl about an abandoned litter of kittens. She sent her pictures of the kittens, and Sheryl immediately fell in love with the black and white male and his little orange tabby sister. 
When they are not wrestling with one another, the kittens love to sit by the windows and look outside. June is the instigator of most of the kitty mischief that goes on around the house. Sheryl is quite sure that June dreams of being an outside kitty, while Johnny is perfectly content staying indoors to slide Q-tips and hair bands across the floor. They are very affectionate and love to snuggle. At bedtime they start out either on the chair in their bedroom or on their cat tree, but by morning they are both tucked in bed with their humans. We are so excited to feature Johnny and June as our January Pets of the Month!
SALT Pet of the Month: Leon
Meet Leon, the spunky little kitten belonging to Legal Secretary Samantha Duzniak. For the longest time, Sam did not want pets, but things changed when Leon and his sister Daphne were found in the street at just three weeks old. Sam’s sister helped foster the two siblings and ended up adopting Daphne, leaving Leon in need of a home. Sam would receive multiple pictures of Leon with messages of “Adopt me!” from her sister each day over the next several weeks. Eventually, Leon’s cute little face grew too irresistible to deny, and it wasn’t long before he had a home with Sam.
This sweet boy is now four months old and full of energy! He loves galloping around the kitchen, playing hide and seek, and bird watching. His favorite toys include rubber bands and Mr. Mouse, who unfortunately lost his tail recently during playtime. When the rubber bands shoot across the floor, Leon runs right behind, often crashing into walls, tables and chairs to get to them. Strange as it seems, Leon also loves water. He climbs into the bathtub to watch the water flow from the faucet. Needless to say, the squirt bottle has not been the most effective discipline tool.
Leon has regular play dates with his sister Daphne, and they love wrestling and chasing each other around and around. They wipe each other out, and come back from their play dates exhausted. When this active boy is not galloping around or playing, he loves to snuggle and watch TV with Sam.
We are so excited to feature Leon as our November Pet of the Month!
To submit YOUR pet to be featured, visit the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Shaker App, click the Pet of the Month in the drop-down, then click “Submit A Pet.”
SALT Pet of the Month: Louie
Meet Louie, the handsome Maltese belonging to Sacramento SALT Associate Mike Le and his girlfriend Lai. Louie is six years old and maintains his youthful appearance effortlessly with the puppy haircuts he receives from Lai.
Louie has been known to play the “shy guy” around new people and animals when he first meets them. But when it comes to meal time, Louie does not hold back. He LOVES his food. He will growl (though not at all intimidating) and protect his meal at all costs!
Also affectionately known as “Bubba,” Louie loves going for walks and playing with his favorite toy – his orange dragon. Another favorite activity of Louie’s – possibly a Pet of the Month first – is taking baths. As soon as he hears Mike say, “bath time,” Louie runs excitedly to the tub. When it’s time to wind down, Louie curls up in his bed on the floor next to Mike and Lai. In the morning, it only takes a few little cries for either Mike or Lai to pick him up and snuggle with him in their bed!
We are thrilled to feature Louie as our October Pet of the Month!
To submit YOUR pet to be featured, visit the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Shaker App, click the Pet of the Month in the drop-down, then click “Submit A Pet.”
SALT Pets of the Month: Dante and DaVinci
Meet Dante and DaVinci, two mini donkeys (aka “the donkey doodles”), belonging to Paychex Inc. Manager of State and Local Tax Dee Waldruff and her family. Dee’s thoroughbred, Alice, and her retired racing Greyhound, Indy, were previously featured as Pets of the Month in March 2015. Dante and DaVinci joined the Waldruff family shortly thereafter when Dee saw that they were available in a Facebook group post. The donkeys’ previous owner had passed away, and family members were trying to re-home the pair. Dee knew when she saw them that they had to be part of the family.
Dante and DaVinci joined two horses, three dogs, two cats and a pony on the Waldruff property affectionately referred to as the “Walderosa.” They quickly became quite the security team, alerting everyone with their loud braying anytime a stranger or animal wandered onto the property.
Finding suitable names for the donkeys was not the easiest of tasks. Dee and her daughter went back and forth with ideas for weeks. Aragorn and Legolas, Buckbeak and Hedwig, Button and Bobbin were all considered, but nothing fit until they landed on Dante and DaVinci.
Adding the donkey doodles to the Waldruff herd was admittedly the perfect solution to Dee’s mid-life crisis. She says, “Some people want fancy cars, I wanted mini donkeys.” If you ask her husband, he believes it was a moment of insanity. Either way you look at it, they are wonderful additions to the family and bring smiles to everyone they meet.
We are thrilled to feature Dante and DaVinci as our September Pets of the Month!
To submit YOUR pet to be featured, visit the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Shaker App, click the Pet of the Month in the drop-down, then click “Submit A Pet.”
SALT Pets of the Month: Eleanor and Casper
Meet five-year-old Eleanor and two-year-old Casper, the beloved pets of Kathryn McClure, Senior State Tax Director at NBC Universal (a Comcast company). Eleanor (Ellie) is a delightful mix of Golden Lab, Keeshond, West Highland Terrier and Dachshund. She came to Kathryn through the Golden Retriever Rescue. Ellie is highly intelligent, very stubborn and resourceful; she can open dog crates, wrought iron gates, the pantry door (and steal the greenies) and has an extensive vocabulary. She loves getting dressed up; she has a tutu for fancy events and a wide variety of sweaters. If you show her a sweater and she wants to wear it, she will let you know and then take it off by herself when she doesn’t want it anymore.
Unfortunately for Ellie, the dreaded mange, which had affected Ellie’s litter, continued to surge again and again. When Kathryn asked the vet what else could be done to help Ellie (as well as two cats who had stress-related health issues because they hate Ellie), the vet’s response was “get a puppy, a very young one. Give Ellie a job and wear out her brain.” Enter Casper, aka The Big Goomba.
Casper is an English Cream Golden Retriever who was eight weeks old and weighed eight pounds when he entered Kathryn’s life. Casper is now a sturdy and trim 105-pound giant; he could be taken for a small Great Pyrenees. He is Kathryn’s third Golden and everyone feels relaxed around him. Casper is a little odd about some things. For example, he will not walk from the hall into the living room; he has to back up like a truck every single time. Casper also is terrified of the cats. One of the cats will sit at the end of the hallway and trap him. He won’t walk past her. Instead he sits and cries for help. Casper has a sense of humor (Ellie doesn’t) and makes Kathryn laugh every day by just being a big goofball. And that horrible mange that plagued Ellie for years? She has not had a single outbreak since Casper entered the family; he is literally worth his weight in gold!
We are thrilled to feature Eleanor and Casper as our August Pets of the Month!
To submit YOUR pet to be featured, visit the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Shaker App, click the Pet of the Month in the drop-down, then click “Submit A Pet.”
SALT Pet of the Month: Caldwell
Meet Caldwell, the newest family member of Eversheds Sutherland Associate Todd Betor and his fiancée Michelle. Caldwell, a Kentucky gentleman, is a six-month-old Labradoodle. Before joining Todd and Michelle, Caldwell’s blue steel look captured their hearts from the computer screen. Michelle’s “puppy proposal” sealed the deal, and Todd was off to the Blue Grass State. Michelle, Todd and Caldwell have not looked back since.
When not sleeping, Caldwell enjoys being out on the town, racking up OpenTable points and the hearts of wait-staff throughout the DC area. In addition to his affinity for dining al fresco with some “Sauvignon Bark,” Caldwell has completed two 5Ks and is eager to have another go at the waves of the Atlantic.
Caldwell is also very fond of playing “pick something up and jump on the couch with it.” The object of the game is for you to catch him getting something that he should not. Rest assured, as long as the item is not a makeup brush, it will be unharmed. Hijinks aside, Caldwell’s party tricks include knowing the meaning of sit, down, place, come, leave it and drop it. He is always ready to show off!
We are thrilled to feature Caldwell as our July Pet of the Month!
To submit YOUR pet to be featured, visit the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Shaker App, click the Pet of the Month in the drop-down, then click “Submit A Pet.”
SALT Pets of the Month: Chloe and Bella
Meet Chloe and Bella, twelve and eleven year old Shih Tzu’s belonging to Valerie Saines, Director – State Income Tax at T-Mobile. Also known as Chloe-Poo and Bella-Roo, these two girls are best friends who go everywhere and do everything together despite their very different personalities.
Chloe is a true little princess. Her most favorite things in life are toys and snuggling. 
She is a sponge for a good tummy rub anytime and gives lots of sweet kisses in return. Chloe makes sure there’s plenty of play time in every day. Her signature “toy chasing move,” which she has perfected over many years, is to start running on the family room carpet then go into a long slide when she reaches the kitchen hardwood floor and snag her toy just before the refrigerator!
Bella is an active outdoors girl—She loves soaking up the sun, rolling in the cool grass, collecting twigs and chasing rabbits in the backyard. She also makes sure geese at the park stay off the grass. Bella is an accomplished escape artist—she has springs in her feet jumping high over obstacles and can squeeze through small spaces to make her stealth move into the neighborhood. Toys just don’t interest her—the real fun for Bella is chasing Chloe!
These cuties love walks along Lake Washington, meeting new pups and people on the way. At the end of the day, you’ll find Bella curled up in Valerie’s lap with Chloe snuggled by her side.
We are thrilled to feature Chloe and Bella as June’s SALT Pets of the Month!
To submit YOUR pet to be featured, visit the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Shaker App, click the Pet of the Month in the drop-down, then click “Submit A Pet.”
SALT Pet of the Month: Doodle
Meet Doodle, the family member of Cooper Monroe, State and Local Tax Director at Duke Energy. Doodle is a rescue dog from a Dachshund rescue place in York, South Carolina. Cooper and his family were told that Doodle was a wire-haired dachshund; however, because the vet says Doodle’s legs are too long, he is a type of mutt. Cooper and his family got him when he was about one and he has been part of Cooper’s family for about three years.
He is pictured in his hunting pose, which he patiently assumes for hours at a time. Early in his life, Doodle managed to catch a bird using this technique. He’s been trying to repeat that feat ever since with no success. Squirrels are Doodle’s arch enemy that send him into a fit of barking. Cooper thinks Doodle doesn’t like squirrels so much because he knows they’re the most frequent cause of power outages (proof can be found here).
Doodle’s best attribute is his method of greeting you. He will stand at your feet, wag his tail vigorously and howl loudly. He also likes to wrestle with Cooper’s other dogs, Mocha the yorkie and Pogo the shih tzu/Boston terrier mix. While Doodle is a fun-loving blonde, don’t be fooled. He’s the alpha dog and never lets the other dogs win at wrestling.
We are so excited to feature Doodle as our May Pet of the Month!
To submit YOUR pet to be featured, visit the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Shaker App, click the Pet of the Month in the drop-down, then click “Submit A Pet.”
SALT Pet of the Month: Lexie
Lovely Lexie is owned by Eversheds Sutherland Associate Jessie Eisenmenger.
Lexie is approximately 10 years old, and Jessie adopted her in 2013 from the Anne Arundel County Animal Control shelter. When Jessie first brought her home from the shelter, Lexie was terrified and climbed in a hole between Jessie’s dishwasher and the wall. She hid in there for eight hours before Jessie was able to lure her out with food.
Jessie has a wifi security camera so she can keep an eye on Lexie when Jessie is not home. From what Jessie sees, Lexie just literally just sleeps all day. Living the dream! 
Other interesting things about Lexie:
- She loves sitting on books or in her kitty cabana.
- She tolerates Halloween costumes.
- She loves to show her belly when she is sleeping, but hates having her belly touched.
- She loves hiding out in cardboard boxes or pillow forts.
- She loves to cuddle and will follow me around the apartment until I sit down long enough for her to climb in my lap.
We are thrilled that Lexie is our April Pet of the Month!
SALT Pet of the Month: Abby
This month, we are revisiting one of our prior Pets of the Month for a “Closer Look” follow up. This month we honor Abby Fulps, who previously shared her Pet of the Month glory with her sister Olive in 2012. Abby is a female Boston Terrier belonging to Stephanie Fulps, Sacramento SALT Office Coordinator/Paralegal and her husband Jason.
Also known as Abby Fabulous, Abby-licious, and the Queen, Abby will be 13 years young in May.
Stephanie found Abby’s adoption ad online in early February 2007 on the fourth page of a Google search for “Sacramento Boston Terrier adoption.” In her ad photo, Abby was wearing a black bandana with red kiss marks around her neck and the ad read, “My name is Abby. I am two years old. I get along with other dogs. I do not like cats.” Stephanie was instantly smitten and called the number and spoke to Abby’s owner who told Stephanie that her husband’s Rottweiler was the dominant dog of the house and that Abby wasn’t getting the attention she deserved. It turned out that Abby lived less than a mile away, and Stephanie and Jason were able to meet her that evening. By the weekend, Abby was living in her new home.
As she’s gotten older, Abby has become much more affectionate. For the longest time, it seemed she would only tolerate being pet, but now she sits with Stephanie every evening for an after work puppy rub-down. When Stephanie stops massaging long enough to take a bite of dinner or change the channel, Abby looks her in the eye and paws at her in protest.
This special gal is so pleased to be March’s Pet of the Month!
To submit YOUR pet to be featured, visit the Eversheds Sutherland SALT Shaker App, click the Pet of the Month in the drop-down, then click “Submit A Pet.”