Synopsis:
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 accidentally.
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.
Review:
First, if you haven’t read my about me page, then you don’t know that I have 3 fur-kidz of my own. Come to think of it, I’ve had a pet at every point in my life. I remember growing up I had a black lab named Boots (who used to swing me on my swing), then a cat named Licorice, then another cat named AppleJacks (after my favorite My Little Pony), a dog named Holly (that I found while volunteering at the Humane Society), a cat named Cotton (bet you can’t guess what color she was), a sugar glider I named Snickles, another dog named Chief (who wasn’t really my dog, but I tried to claim her), a cat named Silver (who acted more like a dog), two ferrets named Bandit and Bella, a bird, some fish, and finally, my dogs Buddy, Lina and my adopted red-nosed step child Brutus. So, yeah, lots of pets.
The best and greatest thing about Something Furry Underfoot is that while I was reading it, and laughing and crying, I thought back to all the fond memories I have about my previous and current pets. Peterson has inspired me to write down these memories, because I know once my dogs have passed, the memories will be the only thing I have left of them.
I would recommend Something Furry Underfoot to anyone who has or had pets or anyone who simply loves animals. In fact, 18 pages into the story, I realized I had always wanted a hedgehog (but I doubt I’d be able to pull off Mark’s (Amy’s husband) look to get my way on that )! Peterson’s tales about her first batch of ferrets (especially the part about the ferret war dance) had me rolling because I remembered playing with Bandit and having him do what I called the ferret freak-out. If you’ve never had a ferret, then you’re missing out! Just read Amy’s book and you’ll realize what I say is true! There are tons of wonderful stories in Something Furry Underfoot. The overall message? How each and every animal touched Amy and Mark’s life!
Social Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Buy the Book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Goodreads
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
Click here for your chance to win a Signed copy of Something Furry Underfoot!!!
.
Now go check out all the other AWESOME BLOGS that are participating in this Fabulous Tour!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
A special thanks to Lightning Book Promotions for hosting this Blog Tour, and to Amy L. Peterson for a free copy of Something Furry Underfoot to read and review!!!
These are but Shadows 
I have two of my own fur-kids. There’s Pepper, a boarder collie-Dalmatian mix, and Bobby, a beagle-black lab mix. I love them and hope that they are around for a very long time.
Hi Melissa! Thanks for telling me about your fur-kidz! It sounds like you’re a animal lover just like Amy! I hope you check out her website! She has tons of photos of her “kidz” that she talks about in Something Furry Underfoot. Good luck winning the Signed Book!
What a great book! I love animals and have one furry pet – Sandy, a golden retriever. Thanks for the giveaway.
You know, just this past weekend I was told of a 10 month old Golden Retriever that was in need of a good home. It broke my heart that we couldn’t take him, but three dogs is enough! And, on Monday I found out that he found a good home 🙂
I am glad you liked it! ~Stormi from Lightning Book Promotions
Thanks Stormi! And thanks so much for hosting and letting me participate in the tour!
Pingback: Book Blog Tour Schedule for Something Furry Underfoot « Natural Wonderings·