Celebrating OutSmart’s readers and their pets. by Megan Smith
Whether they bark, meow, or only make noises when they’re chewing up your favorite sweater, the love between a pet and its owner is unconditional. An awful day can be turned around with a simple lick on the face or cuddles on the couch from your animal best friend. In this year’s pet issue, OutSmart gives a little love back to the pets that love us all year long.
Nina is an adventurous Chihuahua and the “caramel baby” of OutSmart reader Morena Roas.
Freedom is OutSmart reader Morena Roas’s other sassy dog, who Roas calls her “chocolate baby.” Here Freedom waits impatiently for her mom to get in the car so they can go. They have places to be!
Vicky Pham poses with her “perfect prince,” Samson. Samson is a two-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd/Chow mix adopted from Austin Pets Alive. Pham says that her Instagram followers love this adorable rescue pup and his different bandanas and unintentional poses.
Alyssa Ramirez (l) and Brittany Weinstein (r) pose with their daughter, Lilo the hedgehog. Lilo is a five-month-old cinnamon-colored hedgehog who loves to sass her mommies, eat turkey, and burrow into old sweatshirts.
Terren Mares’s dog, Nikki, may be the weight-lifting champ of pooches! Nikki is a ten-year-old chocolate lab and has been carrying this log wherever she goes for the past three years. “The older I get, the stronger she gets!,” Mares says.
Erin Spencer celebrates with her dog, Rhett, after the two were named Citizens for Animal Protection honorees last year. This nine-year-old pooch, whom Spencer describes as “a big goofball,” goes to work with her every day. Rhett loves the Hill Country and riding the boat on Canyon Lake. He has dog and cat brothers and sisters and also has two lovebird parrots, Peaches and Mango, whom he adores.
OutSmart reader Johnathon Morlan poses with his seven-year-old cat, Gordo. Gordo loves attention from visitors and is clearly unaware of his massive weight, as he’s always trying to climb on Morlan. “He’s not a regular cat, he’s a cool cat,” Morlan says.
Anna Godwin proudly shows off her six-year-old cat, Murphy, dressed in his dinosaur Halloween costume. Murphy is a super-laid-back rescue cat that loves parties, likes spooning, and lets Godwin dress him up on a regular basis.
Parker Doyle is the beloved companion of JD Doyle, producer of the monthly radio show Queer Music Heritage and co-host of KPFT’s Queer Voices.
Yvonne Marquez (l) and Gloria Delgadillo (r) snuggle up to their ten-month-old Lab/Pitbull mix, Tungi (which means “victory” in the Nigerian language of Yoruba). He is an adventurous pup that loves taking long walks around the neighborhood, giving people hugs, and destroying all his rope toys. The couple describes Tungi as “the Ryan Gosling of dogs.”
