FETCHING PERSONALITIES

People love their pets.

Like doting parents, owners hold forth on the virtues of their domesticated mammals, “… makes my world a better place,” “… changed my life,” “… has the sweetest soul.”

And most Americans back those warm sentiments with cold cash. We will spend some $58 billion pampering our animals this year, according to the American Pet Product Association. Around the White Rock area, we have our pick of posh pet hotels and pooch patios, doggie bakeries (barkeries) and upscale grooming services.

We took a close-up look at a cross section of neighborhood pets to find out what makes them so worth it.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

If you submitted a photo of your pet to the online photo contest, keep an eye on our regular Pet Pause section in future issues, where you might see your furry friend and his tale in print.

Almost famous

Can you keep up with house cats Lilybug and Raymundo? They definitely know what it’s like to live life in the limelight.

They have their own Instagram account and their human Catherine Kelly is always stalking them, waiting for an opportune moment to snap a photo.

Lilybug and Raymundo are siblings — their mom’s name is Charles Barkley. Despite coming from the same bloodline and being raised together, the pair couldn’t be more different.

“Raymundo is the attention seeker,” Kelly explains. “When people come over, he’s in her cat,” she explains. “I noticed other people have Instagram accounts for their cats, and so I wondered what it would be like to start an account for them.”

She decided to give it a try, and at first only her friends and family followed their account. Soon enough, however, other pets began following Lilybug and Raymundo, showing their support through “likes” and comments.

“I couldn’t believe the community of pets that are on social media,” Kelly says. “Without even realizing it, it kind of became an experiment in social media. It’s been fun.

Mortgage corporate office located in DFW with locally managed in-house appraiser panel

Local processing, underwriting, closing, funding, and loan servicing

Fast closings on purchase transactions with service to match

Conventional, FHA, VA – Direct seller of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with no overlays, FHA down to 600 credit

Doctor Loan Programs – M.D.s, Dentists, Podiatrists, and Chiropractors

Special discounts for civil service workers, teachers, and military

True One-Time Close and two time close construction and renovations loans all serviced locally. Lock your rate up front while the home is being built!

Portfolio Jumbo Lending up to $3M

Condos, Lot Loans, Investment Properties

Purchase and Refinance Loans

Extended Interest Rate Locks up to 9 months

Available on weekends for preapprovals and lending questions

Living their arms. He has lots of personality. Lilybug is more reserved. She kind of hangs out at the edge of the room at first. Eventually, if she decides she likes you, she’ll rub against your legs and let you pet her.”

Although they’re personalities are night and day, they’re equally as lovable on the Internet.

Their social media presence grew gradually. Before they had their own Instagram account, Kelly would occasionally post pictures of them on her Facebook page.

“I was teetering on the edge of becoming that crazy cat lady who posts tons of pictures of

My friends are like, ‘You seem like a normal person, and then I find out you have an Instagram for your cats.’ ”

Despite what Kelly’s real-life friends think, the Instagram community thinks Lilybug and Raymundo are the picture purr-fect pair. They just recently hit 1,000 followers.

Of course, they’ve had to relinquish their privacy for fame. Kelly posts pictures of them playing, sleeping, getting into trouble and even grooming themselves. Nothing is sacred, but they’re willing to make the sacrifice for their fans.

214-563-0171 jolson@firstunitedbank.com www.dallasmortgageman.com 8750

Pig on the run

Laurel Holt never felt so helpless as the day she learned her 2-year-old pot-bellied pig, Eleanor Pigby, had escaped from the backyard while Holt was thousands of miles away on a cruise ship.

The portly pig is her baby, and Holt was desperate to do anything she could to track Eleanor down.

She immediately took to social media to sound the alarm, telling all her friends and family to be on the lookout for the missing pig. As the hashtag #EleanorPigby began circulating the interwebs, Holt’s friends canvased the neighborhood with missing pig signs.

When local news outlets got wind of the swine on the loose, they helped spread the word. One of Holt’s friends coined Eleanor as “the most popular pig in the metroplex.”

Meanwhile in East Dallas, Eleanor was wandering around the neighborhood making friends and scouting for food — including people’s flowerbeds.

A photo of Eleanor on a neighbor’s front porch surfaced on Facebook, but before Holt and her friends could reach the picture-taker, Eleanor was gone again.

Soon after, Eleanor was corraled by a man who lives in the neighborhood. He couldn’t take her home, so he took her to his uncle’s farm, where she befriended some fellow pigs.

When the Good Samaritan got back to East Dallas, he saw the missing pig fliers and immediately made plans to bring Eleanor home. Just two days after she went missing, the wayward pig was home safe in her own backyard.

“It sounds like a children’s story, in a way,” Holt muses. “Eleanor Pigby running through the neighborhood eating flowers, looking for her mom and coming back home.”

Holt, for one, is relieved that Eleanor Pigby is home to snuggle on the couch, give her kisses and eat her out of house and home.

Molly Burns Austin, MD Dermatologist