Ideally, this is the way it works:
1. You think of a “critter”: pet, human, some other being, whatever comes to your mind who you’d like to nominate to be a “Critter of The Month.” This is free and anonymous, so by all means, have fun with it!
2. You simply click on that button right over there that’ll take you to the fillable form where you can have a good ol’ time answering questions that will help flesh out your chosen critter. Or – if you like to make things difficult for yourself – you can click on that other button over there to access the questionnaire doc, which you can complete and email to hollyststudio@gmail.com. Either way you choose to submit, include a photo or two or three and even a video!
3. We will select a nominee each month and honor them with the title “Critter of The Month.” A photo of the winner will be attached to our pet library for passers-by to adore, accompanied by a little write-up here on this website. We will also share each month’s honoree on the instagram for this silly thing. And we will make a donation to one of our fave local critter-centric charitable organizations such as Pet Resource Center of Kansas City, Lakeside Nature Center, Deep Roots, Harvesters, etc.
Sounds fun, right? Let’s see your critter!
To submit your critter via email, click the button below to access the questionnaire doc.
Wanna peep some esteemed critters?
Click below to view past “Critter of The Month” honorees.
Hm, so what is "Critter of The Month?"
The idea for “Critter of The Month” came about after seeing the variety of folks who interact with our pet library. Our library is a regular stop for many passers-by in the area. In particular, dogs love and demand to stop for the treats housed inside. They do their little tricks and practice their good behavior in front of the library; most of them nail the “sit”, “down” and “shake’ combo performance which leads to their Kirkland Signature Dog Biscuit reward. Some dogs refuse to try, but the people walking them offer treats anyway. The stop for treats at the library is a crucial part of many dogs’ routines and it is super precious to witness their excitement as they approach the box. There are also non-dog walking visitors: people traveling to or from work, groups of kids and folks who stop their cars to look and sample (or occasionally clean out the entire contents). Some people leave items in our library for others to adopt. There is a constant flow of intriguing, quality items in and out of our library. The variety of interactions and contributions made us curious about our visitors.
Now, you may ask yourself, “why is it ‘Critter of The Month,’ not ‘Pet of The Month?’” Fair question!
We think “Pet of The Month” is a little limiting. Because what if you have befriended an opossum and want to share your budding friendship with the neighborhood in a safe, supportive space? Maybe you’ve developed quite an emotional attachment to a Northern Cardinal family growing up in your yard. Perhaps you’ve named all the members of the feathered crew: Maureen, Carl, Carl Jr. and Carla (RIP); and you want to share the soap opera unfolding in your red cedar with someone (anyone!) who will listen. What about your husband? He’s kind of a critter, right? He’s not a pet, although he has started to grow insane, wiry ear hair akin to some longhaired kitty cats you’ve known. Yep, he’s decidedly a critter. That daughter of yours, the way she told you that she wants to be a wolf when she grows up and she sometimes only communicates in meeeeeows? Critter.
Wanna learn more about our pet library?
Honestly, we just like the word “critter.” It’s cute, as it belies ferality. And aren’t we all a little feral in our core? We pretend we are fully domesticated, what with our jobs and mortgages and appointments and sipping our little coffees. But what’s really going on there behind our masks of civility?
Have you ever received a health insurance claim denial? Remember how you instantly saw red and could only scheme in annihilation? You launched into a plan to end the cruelty; not just for yourself, but for everyone in this country. Where do you begin? Who do you target first? Luigi had a plan, but it didn’t end up effecting the change as he had imagined. Bless his heart. No, you have to go higher. You have to go for the top: the oligarchy.
Wanna read about past and present honorees?
Your train of thought leads to Google.
The articles and images that appear in your search overwhelm you. The ads for Black Rifle Coffee inundate your scanning and you notice the packages of coffee look more like bags of kibble for critters; there’s even a black lab on the front of one!
Further into the search, that dog-shooting politician from one of the Dakotas appears. She has a huge gun in her hands; you have no idea what kind, as that sort of unknown is what led you on this search. Her face is uncanny; she’s definitely menopausal, but her brunette tresses and artificially plumped lips and forehead desperately want to trick your eye into believing that she still produces her own estrogen. You aren’t buying it. Her hair reminds you of a guinea pig you once saw in Petco. She’s a critter, no doubt.
The scrolling continues.
There’s Joe Rogan. The overcompensating steroid and jiu jitsu regimens have turned him into a critter, maybe of a toad variety. His palumboism juts out over the fanny pack he dons, “fanny pack? What the hell? Oh, he must have a gun stowed there.” You then get sidetracked with an image search of that Rogan critter and end up glimpsing a selfie he snapped in a cold plunge. His nips are unexpectedly long. You’ve grown weary looking at all these images and entertaining these thoughts. You feel hopeless. Your rage turns to apathy, because where do you begin to dismantle this government-level system of abuse? You feel like a captured critter, gnawing at your own paw to free yourself.
Anyway, we call it “Critter of The Month” to keep things open to your interpretation. Plus, if we called it “Pet of The Month,” people might get the idea that we were capable of staying on topic, safely boundaried from absurdity. Honestly, that bores us.