Finnbarr McCool

Walking through PetSmart in January 2007, I spied an adorable combo of two of my favorite cat breeds, Siamese and Manx. It was love at first sight!

It's been over four years since I adopted Finn (formerly Oswald) and everyday he makes me laugh. He's the Clown Prince of the house.

He gets along great with the other two [adopted] cats, a Russian Blue named Oscar Wilde and a DSH named Lillie Langtry.

He's never met anyone he didn't like and loves to help if you're painting, laying tile, or trying to hang mini-blinds - whether you want help or not! :) He has fans all over the country and has even converted some cat "not-likers".

Thanks IAR!

Tan Man the retired Walker Hound

We adopted Tan Man in April of 2010. He'd been in an IAR foster home for about a year, but we were told that the only people who'd applied for him wanted to keep him outside in a kennel. Tan Man had originally been found by his foster mom in a rural area north of Durham, emaciated, with a number painted on his side. He's a Walker Hound that she figured had been separated from his hunting pack. We all agreed that Tan Man needed an indoor retirement home, and he joined our pack shortly thereafter. Tan Man is a beautiful, loving, endearingly weird companion, and we're lucky to have him. He gets compliments on his good looks and friendly charm wherever we go, and we're always sure to tell people he's an IAR dog. He's a good ambassador.

Tilly Girl

We adopted Tilly after already adopting another kitty from another rescue and were not really looking for another kitty/cat. However, I wanted to go and see Tilly anyway and fell completely in love with her. She is a very special cat that loves water and for the most part acts like a dog. She has become a big sister to our other cat "Sassy" and they are great together. Tilly also loves our Min Pin "Apollo" who is quite old and suffers with cataracts. She gets frantic when there are little flashing lights to a degree that I have never seen before. Suffice to say, I can't imagine life without my little pet menagerie.
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Mr. Darcy and Me

Growing up, I was always a dog person. We had a wonderful yellow lab named Sandy who was a beloved member of our family, and to me, cats were just those other pets crazy old ladies had. After graduating from college, I wanted a pet, but was not ready to be tied down by a dog. My mom suggested adopting a cat, and after doing copious amounts of research, I decided on a Russian Blue because of their temperament and hypoallergenic qualities (which turned out to all be true!). I can tell you, without a doubt, that I'm in love with my cat. Yep, I'm one of those crazy cat ladies. I never saw it coming, but it happened. From the first time I saw Darcy (formerly "Hutch") at his foster home, I loved him. I sat on the floor of the foster mom's living room and he crawled in my lap and purred and purred. I knew from that moment that I wanted to bring him home. Darcy quickly became my "fur baby" and a favorite among my friends and family. He is tirelessly playful, extremely curiou
s, and sweet as can be. He runs to greet me at the door when I get home and immediately begins talking to me in a series of meow's as he leads me to play with his favorite toys. He loves to watch the birds and hunt for bugs on the front porch. That's how he got his nickname "Bug", because any bug that gets anywhere near Darcy meets an unfortunate end (which is great for his Mama who hates bugs). Named after Jane Austen's brooding Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, Darcy fits the personality of Austen's character perfectly: refined, intelligent, loyal, and extremely affectionate. I picked the name long before I met Darcy, but he it suits him like a glove. I wasn't sure what to expect when I adopted Darcy from IAR, having heard horror stories of adopted pets gone wild. However, I could not be happier (ecstatic, really) with this new addition to my family. I spoil him rotten and he loves me unconditionally. It's a perfect match: Mr. Darcy and me.

Mr. Darcy and Me

This is the picture that goes with the post I submitted earlier.
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Mr. Darcy and Me

Growing up, I was always a dog person. We had a wonderful yellow lab named Sandy who was a beloved member of our family, and to me, cats were just those other pets crazy old ladies had. After graduating from college, I wanted a pet, but was not ready to be tied down by a dog. My mom suggested adopting a cat, and after doing copious amounts of research, I decided on a Russian Blue because of their temperament and hypoallergenic qualities (which turned out to all be true!). I can tell you, without a doubt, that I'm in love with my cat. Yep, I'm one of those crazy cat ladies. I never saw it coming, but it happened. From the first time I saw Darcy (formerly "Hutch") at his foster home, I loved him. I sat on the floor of the foster mom's living room and he crawled in my lap and purred and purred. I knew from that moment that I wanted to bring him home. Darcy quickly became my "fur baby" and a favorite among my friends and family. He is tirelessly playful, extremely curiou
s, and sweet as can be. He runs to greet me at the door when I get home and immediately begins talking to me in a series of meow's as he leads me to play with his favorite toys. He loves to watch the birds and hunt for bugs on the front porch. That's how he got his nickname "Bug", because any bug that gets anywhere near Darcy meets an unfortunate end (which is great for his Mama who hates bugs). Named after Jane Austen's brooding Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, Darcy fits the personality of Austen's character perfectly: refined, intelligent, loyal, and extremely affectionate. I picked the name long before I met Darcy, but he it suits him like a glove. I wasn't sure what to expect when I adopted Darcy from IAR, having heard horror stories of adopted pets gone wild. However, I could not be more happy (ecstatic, really) with this new addition to my family. I spoil him rotten and he loves me unconditionally. It's a perfect match: Mr. Darcy and me.

Eli the fELIne

I absolutely love my cat Eli. When I saw his description on IAR's
website, I knew he was the cat for me. He lived in the woods for the
first 9 months of his life before discovering humans. When I got him,
he spent a couple days under my bed, but after he understood that he
could trust me, he started exploring and blooming into the wonderful
cat that he is now. He is never unhappy. He greets me at the door with
his little meows and big purrs, and he loves to cuddle and play. I
couldn't have asked for a better cat. He went through his kitten stage
of playing allll the time and using his claws, but being the
sweetheart that he is, he has taught himself to keep his claws in when
he plays with my hands. He's also great at catching bugs and loves to
sit on the screen porch. I can't imagine my life without him, and I
look forward to years of fun and companionship to come.

Thank you for having such a well-organized, humbling organization. I
appreciate all that you do.