Joe and Dinah

Meet our campers

As you may know, Kevin and I have our own little family with our two campers, Joe and Dinah.

Joe was my first dog. I got him 12 years ago on May 1st in a small Koreatown pet store we often walked by.

I didn’t choose him; he chose me. I sat down, and all these puppies gathered around. Joe came up to me and played on my lap, something he continuously does when I’m working or relaxing. We actually didn’t take him immediately; my parents fought over bringing him home. I will never forget how hard I cried about it. Looking back, this was perhaps one of the most grateful things I could get from them. We went back and took him home.

He’s been with me through every difficult situation in my life. He also caused some trouble, which sometimes hindered us, but he is family. He is more than family; he is my familiar. I could cry or feel upset, and he’ll be right at my feet comforting me. He follows me around and curls up in a cozy ball-or cinnamon roll as Kevin calls it. He’s always with me.

Dinah is a much different story. Dinah was a stray. When I lived in Long Beach, I first spotted her in the courtyard in 2018. She was a skittish little thing. One day I decided to feed her cheap cat food found at the dollar tree, and she ate it up. Every now and then, she would come back. I assumed she didn’t have any owners, and we asked around to our neighbors. One said that before we arrived, she was walking around for 2 years already. I didn’t have the time nor finances to take in another pet. As the two years in Long Beach went by, I would occasionally see her and pet her. Sometimes she would accompany Joe, and I on walks down the street. One cold day, I decided to makeshift a little sleeping box for her on our doorstep. Within the hour I set it up, she snuggled in.

I started to feed her every day at that point. She would wake up and patiently wait outside. When I worked out, she would lay on my yoga mat next to Joe and just chill. I would jokingly tell Kevin that I would bring her in. I would often ask him to feed her for me, and he would slowly fall in love with her. One day he left her food, and we started hearing a catfight. Another stray noticed we were feeding her, and they both fought. We were both concerned and saw her come out like a champ and never saw the stray again. Since that point, when Kevin fed her, he would keep a lookout for any other strays, and she could eat in peace. I then seriously asked him to bring Dinah in. We had made plans to move in together, and he was reluctant at first. It was mainly a responsibility issue. In the last year of our stay in Long Beach, on the 4th of July, we decided to bring her in. We brought her in for a little because of the fireworks, and he then said, “There’s no way we can leave her behind once you moved.”

And so Dinah became part of the family on July 6th. We were told she had no chip and that she was healthy. To our surprise, she was 8 years old! She was so small we couldn’t believe it. When she got home, she got used to Joe super easily. Once we moved out and into Davis, she started opening up more as well. She loves to play and meow loudly at 6 a.m. for her food. She purrs loudly when she is snuggled and pet by Kevin. She actually shares a stronger bond with Kevin- someone who didn’t care for cats at first. It’s charming to see.

She had a little cut on her foot most recently, and we took her to a vet. What was at first, a simple checkup became something more significant. We found out through blood tests she had FIV, Feline immunodeficiency virus. We were shocked, sad, and a little upset with the care we received from other vets. We were also overwhelmed; we found out she needed a lot of dental work to be done. It didn’t matter, though; Dinah is a part of our family now. I love that Joe has a friend now-even if he steps on her sometimes by accident. They snuggle close and wait for our arrival home when we leave. Whatever we can do for them, we’ll do it.

That’s pretty much the story with our campers. We like to call them our campers because we always start out the day with, “How’s everyone doing today?” just like a camp counselor would. Every day they bring smiles to our faces, and we try to do the same for both. Pets are like kids, and the best companions one could ask for.

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” – Anatole France