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Ra’ul Umaña with BeBe and Beaner
They say pets and their owners often look alike, and Ra’ul Umaña’s pets — BeBe and Beaner — reflect his colorful, fun-loving personality.
BeBe is an 8-year-old Harlequin Macaw who Umaña calls a “clown.” Although BeBe has been spotted at Barberton’s Labor Day Parade, the annual DeBord Halloween Party and The Masque of the Red Death party at the Akron Civic Theatre, his favorite place to visit is The Peanut Shoppe in downtown Akron where he performs tricks in exchange for cashews.
Beaner is a 4-year-old Teacup Chihuahua who, Umaña says, owns more clothing than he does. When she accompanies Umaña and BeBe to performances, she wiles away the time by allowing people to play dress-up with her.
Umaña, who lives in Akron with his partner Patti Schott, is a designer and builder whose most recent masterpiece was the designing and building of Archie The Snowman for Lock 3’s holiday display.
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Jason Vanity Adams and Zito (aka ZZ)
When Jason Vanity Adams lost his Black Lab mix, Onyx, five years ago, he realized his life wasn’t complete without a dog. Enter Zito, a bull terrier who was rescued from an Indiana puppy mill.
Although the dog was in poor condition — both physically and mentally, Adams, an artist and veterinary assistant from Akron, fostered Zito and nursed him back to health.
“After spending time and investing love, there was no way I could let this little treasure call anywhere else home,” he says. “Zito has been with me, as my loyal companion ever since. … Just as I saved his life, he has, mine.”
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Tia Stathopoulos and Charlie Butterworth
Charlie Butterworth is a partying, jet-setting playboy with an attitude, and that’s why his owner, Tia Stathopoulos, loves him.
Stathopoulos, who is an economic development specialist with the City of Akron, has had Charlie for three years, and she takes this Yorkshire Terrier everywhere she goes. He’s even flown with her on trips to Florida, Toronto and California.
She describes Charlie as a canine “Marlon Brando.” “He’s incredibly sweet but he wants things his way,” she says. “He’s even-tempered unless he thinks you’ve crossed him, and then he will tinkle you.”
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Tari Kotewicz and Yaksha
As a breeder of Bengal cats, it’s easy to see why Tari Kotewicz loves Yaksha so much.
“She’s 11 months old, and I’ve had her since she was born,” she says of the cat, who is named after benevolent nature-spirits in Hindu mythology.
Yaksha is just another high-energy member of the family, which includes Kotewicz’s two sons, Brandon and Kenny, her significant other, Raynard Packard, and her 4-year-old “stepdaughter,” Magdalena.
“Yaksha is constantly in trouble but that’s part of her charm,” she says. “And she’s a frequent visitor to The Packard Institute in Akron as part of their pet therapy program.”
The family also has five other Bengals, two dogs and two Fennec Foxes.
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Allie Rudman and Cutie
Cutie, a Barred Rock chicken, joined the Rudman family almost four years ago.
“She was given to my younger daughter, Allie, after she thoroughly enjoyed caring for her own egg — and the subsequent hatching of a chick — in her kindergarten class,” says Michelle, Allie’s mom.
Today, 10-year-old Allie and her 12-year-old sister Grace care for the chicken at their Stow home along with Michelle and their dad, Rich.
“Cutie loves to be let out of her coop to roam around our yard and forage for bugs and worms,” she says. “She loves to ‘sing’ when we’re out visiting with her. Also, due to her laying an egg per day, we always have plenty of fresh eggs to eat.”
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Adam Rosenbergerand Hank
Adam Rosenberger’s dog, Hank, is a Chocolate Lab who loves getting attention from just about anyone.
“Hank knows he’s a cute dog with big brown eyes, and he uses that to his advantage when he’s done something he shouldn’t have, like eating half of my bathroom door,” Rosenberger says.
The human resources generalist rescued Hank in February 2010 when he was two years old, and he says Hank loves the water near their Portage Lakes home.
“When Hank isn’t working on getting a good head-scratching or jumping off of the dock to retrieve his toy, you can find him passed out in a patch of sun, napping the time away,” Rosenberger says.
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Rosemary Reymann and Don Schmid, with Princess Anne Serena, Daughter of Queen Rosemary of Highland Square; Alvin and Samson
Several years ago, Rosemary Reymann was mourning her tuxedo, Stumpy the Mighty Cat, a feline with no tail and 20 years of interesting adventures.
A year later at a pet rescue, she found another tuxedo who “took away the sorrow, with her sweet cuddly ways.” She named her Princess Anne Serena, Daughter of Queen Rosemary of Highland Square.
When Reymann and Don Schmid were visiting PAWSibilities, Humane Society of Greater Akron, they met Alvin, a handsome tuxedo with no tail, just like the beloved Stumpy. They left but Reymann couldn’t stop thinking about Alvin, and several months later, the couple adopted him.
In January 2012, Reymann and Schmid were at a pet store and “saw this adorable little tuxedo looking up at us.”
“We were both taken by his personality, then noticed that his back legs were sticking straight up,” Reymann says. “There was a sign that said ‘Don’t adopt this cat if you feel sorry for it.’ Don decided right then that he wanted to adopt him.”
Flippy, the sole survivor of his litter, was born without hip sockets, which makes his back legs flip when he climbs over objects. The couple adopted him and changed his name to Samson.
“Don’t tell Sammy that he’s disabled,” she says. “He has developed powerful upper body strength and moves like a gymnast, running in his own unique fashion. … He’s a powerful little guy who makes us laugh every day.”
