The animals behind the humans who bring you the Weekly.

If there's one thing I learned while working on a round-up of Monterey County pets for this week's Pet Issue, it's that asking people to share stories about their furry friends is a joy. Many of us are spending more time at home than ever before, and for pet owners this means more time with our pets. Asking people to share the backstories, quirks and funny habits of their animal companions turned out to be a fun way to connect with the humans, too.

In the spirit of this sharing, here are some of the animals behind the humans who bring you the Weekly. Scroll down to see photos, and read stories, about our own beloved pets.

Lily

"We found Lily at the Monterey County SPCA when she was a rambunctious 4-month-old," senior account executive Diane Glim writes. "We couldn't adopt her immediately because she was enrolled with the Take the Lead program, which teamed at-risk youth with dogs in need of training and socialization. After graduating from the program, we took 'Lola' home to love, and she is now 8 years old and about 100 pounds.

"We changed her name from Lola, the name given to her by the juvenile dog trainers, to Lily, as our next-door neighbors coincidentally had two dogs named Lola. We're grateful to the SPCA and the young trainers whose care and training developed a stray dog into a beloved family member."

Queso, Mozzarella, Blue and Feta 

"Here are the cheesy sisters: Queso and Mozzarella (blue/gray pair), Blue (top right) and Feta (bottom right)," writes graphic designer Alexis Estrada. "Their favorite things are napping, exploring, stealing papers, boxes of all sizes, cereal, bananas, and climbing all over their person, Alexis.

"Queso and Mozzarella were adopted last March from Rattie Ratz Rescue. They like competing with their sister, Feta, to see who can jump the highest. Their sister, Blue, makes sure everyone is properly groomed and tidy; whether they want her to or not. All of them like solving puzzles for treats and riding in jacket sleeves. Some would say their person spoils them too much, but they disagree."

Violet and Bixby 

"Violet and Bixby were about five months old when I adopted them from Animal Friends Rescue Project in 2017," editor Sara Rubin writes. "They are from the same litter, but almost immediately showed their totally divergent personalities. Bixby is a diva always underfoot in search of attention, except while climbing trees or dancing around on the roof. He also enjoys dancing on sleeping humans circa 4am.

"Violet tends to be a lot more independent and spends a lot of time out and about, wooing neighbors with her cute bobtail look and getting treats from everyone on the block. She also persists in breaking the only real household rule for cats—do not go on the kitchen table—because who can kick her off when she likes using the Monterey County Weekly as a chair?"

Pepper

Stormy

Office Manager Linda Maceira's dog Stormy, is seen here as the perfect picture of relaxation. 

Missy

"Hello, I'm Tallulah—named after Tallulah Bankhead, early American actress of the stage and screen, but my human units call me Missy because they say the aforementioned name is just too big for me. I enjoy walking on my human units' keyboards, anything they are eating, and 'talking it over' with the local feral cats in our yard. My favorite pastime is sleeping on top of my male human unit [graphic designer Kevin Jewell] while he's sleeping, and investigating his nostrils."

Hazzard

Hi there, I'm Hazzard. I'm named thus because I can't control my herding instinct and get in front of my human units [see above: graphic designer Kevin Jewell] whilst they're walking. I actually like water—wound up a swimming pool a couple of times. I'm a decent hunter, and my prize catch is a bat I snatched outta the air—hey what more does a cat want then a flying rodent? My favorite pastime is waking up my human units at about 5:30am for a drink outta the bathroom sink."

Suki

Suki, an 11-month old yellow lab, is Art Director/Production Manager Karen Loutzenheiser's mom's favorite walking buddy. Together, the two explore woodland trails, neighborhood walks, and our beautiful beach and ocean environment. The perfect solution to enjoying shelter-in-place.

Lulu

Lulu is pittie-boxer mix rescue who has two mommies: Leigh Anne Argueza and Marielle Argueza. She enjoys doing zoomies in her oversized doghouse and yard in Seaside and finding blankets to make her nest. 

Neil

Neil is a yellow Labrador who is no longer a puppy a cute 10-pound puppy, but a 100-pound handsome boi. Despite his intimidating size, he's scared of small dogs and often hides behind human Marielle Argueza when she takes him for walks in Marina (where Neil lives). He enjoys swimming and sitting down in the bathroom when the toilet is occupied. 

Ethel

Ethel (full name: Ethel the Corgi Who Has Seen Some Shit) is a SIP-era adoptee by Managing Editor Mary Duan, and has a boundless appetite for things that are not food, including Bass loafers, Dansko clogs, remote controls, leather goods including a wallet, and electronic cords.

Frankie (in memoriam) 

Now chasing squirrels in the sky, former Office Dog Frankie (who accompanied human Bradley Zeve, founder & CEO, to the Weekly headquarters) was a loyal mascot. He was preceded by Tyrone, who was the subject of a 2005 cover story, and Gyro, a 60-pound male Vizsla who was the first Weekly office dog.

"Gyro was a great paper chaser, back in the days when reporters would rip stories out of the typewriter and crumble them up, tossing pages toward the wastebasket—only to be intercepted by Gyro," Zeve writes. "He dragged his bed all around the office, and placed it in the sun, then laid down. And mostly, he escaped our former office on Junipero in the late 1980s to go to Carmel Beach for the afternoon. On good days, the Carmel PD dog catcher would return him to the office with a reminder, but no fine. On bad days he would get taken to the Carmel PD kennel and have to be bailed out. Apparently that depended on who the sergeant on duty was."

And, yes—Gyro also made the cover.