"Not The Mom"

He's the DAD!

I have frequently mentioned "Not The Mom" but now I'd like to expand a little bit on this person. First, I found out he's the DAD! Yep, that's what we who wear the fur coats in the family call him around here (I think the 2-legged children call him that too!). But even better than that... he will give us treats if we bother him enough so for me, he is THE KING!

When he is eating dinner I like to sit under the table right at his feet so he can sneak food to me. Speedy is much more obvious, as you can see by the picture attached! He just gets up there on his back legs and puts his head on the Dad's arm until he gets some food. One thing though, if the Dad gives something to Speedy, he always gives something to me too so I don't mind Speedy putting himself out there like that ~ we both benefit!

Also, if we team it up correctly, we can get the Dad to give us treats just by bothering him when he is watching TV or even sometimes if he is just walking through the kitchen! I look at him with my soulful eyes and he asks me if I've been a good girl today ~ well, DUH ~ OF COURSE I'm a good girl ~ and then I anxiously wiggle around and jump on him and voila` he gives me a treat from the cabinet! I LOVE training my humans!

How To Train A Human

Well, when I last wrote I told you about my adventure in training class! That was great fun but now that class has ended I wonder what is in store for me at my new home. By the way, I DID graduate my class but I think it was because they wanted my Mom to sign up for the next level of training. For some reason she just laughed at that. I guess that means she must have had fun in class too!

They Call Me "Flat" Bella

And I Don't Care!

You know how I told you about me wearing the jewelry and then how the Mom attached this long rope-thingy to it and I got to drag the humans anywhere I wanted them to go? Well, it turns out that's not how it's supposed to work.

I found out that the jewelry I'm wearing is really called a "collar" and that long rope-thingy is really called a "lead". Apparently, I wear the "collar and lead" for the purpose of the HUMANS dragging ME where they want ME to go! I sure thought it was the other way around ~ it seemed to work well that way!

So, I get to wear this collar and lead and the Mom takes me to "training" classes. I don't really like to be there though so when they want me to run in a circle (what's the point of THAT?) I just lay down. Yes, that's right ~ I lay down and don't move! Hence, they have taken to calling me "Flat Bella". As I've mentioned before, I am a thin girl for my height (40 pounds and 23" at the withers) so apparently when I lay flat I look like the character "Flat Stanley".

Picture this ~ 10 people with 10 different sized dogs on their leads; all running in a circle and suddenly with no warning, I just lay down. Most of the people are able to avoid my bumper affect but those that don't come crashing into us ~ it's the funniest thing you've ever seen. Training class can be fun. I might like coming here after all.

What Is This Thing Around My Neck?!?

Oh MY ~ I Think It's JEWELRY!!!!

They've done the strangest thing to me today. The Mom put this thing around my neck ~ I think it's jewelry ~ and then attached this long rope-thingy to it and the human holds the end of the long rope-thingy and they expect me to walk wearing this contraption. It was kinda awkward at first but I have discovered that with this jewelry and rope-thingy on I can drag the humans anywhere I want them to go ~ what fun this is! They really know how to make a girl feel at home in this house. I think I'm gonna LOVE living here. Speaking of love, if you love your pet, check out these great "Puppy Love" products:

Mealtime In My New Home

It's The Most Difficult Time Of The Day

Things seem to be going pretty smooth so far. I think mealtime is the most difficult. I haven't figured out the pecking order yet and I want to be the boss because let's face it, I was out on the street for awhile and I had to scrounge up my own food so I feel like I should be at the top of the food pyramid in this house.

Apparently the humans don't agree. At feeding time they separate the 3 of us who wear the fur in the family. The 2 boys are allowed to eat in the same room (the kitchen) but I am relegated to the laundry room. I heard the Mom say it was because I was jumping all over and barking when it was mealtime. That's what we did where I come from! The Mom got pretty mad because a couple of times I knocked my food bowl right out of her hand before we even got to the laundry room. That was a disaster because then my food was all over the floor and those boys came running and started to eat the kibbles that were MINE! That did NOT work well for me.

Apparently I'm going to have to rethink this dinnertime ritual of jumping up on the Mom when she is about to feed me. Maybe I can muster up enough composure to control myself but I dunno~ it's sooooo very tempting all the time. One thing I did notice though is that there is another person here, he's ~ uhhh ~ NOT THE MOM ~ but I don't know what to call him, ~ anyway, he likes to feed those of us who wear the fur in the family at the humans' dinner table. This makes the Mom mad but I will tell you this, NOT THE MOM really gets my attention for his behavior! I'll have to make a note of this and be certain to be nearby every time he eats!

Life In My New Home

So here I am, the "new" gal in town. My Mom and this other guy, I'll call him "NOT the Mom", seem to really like me and so do the kids but I'm not so sure about the 2 boys in the fur coats. My first couple of weeks here have been a struggle with these guys. We haven't communicated very well and to be quite honest, I'm not sure they speak the same language as me. I guess I can tolerate the little guy but I can't stand how he always has to be around the Mom. I thought that was MY job! He is constantly at her feet or needs to be held by her ~ even when she's at the kitchen table he wants her to hold him ~ how ridiculous is that?!? He has to be around the humans ALL THE TIME ~ he even watches TV with them. He is one spoiled Wire Fox Terrier:


The other guy, the Shiba Inu, well he thinks he's a cat ~ pretty weird looking cat, I might add! He doesn't like me too much but I am slowly winning him over. He wants to play all the time ~ how immature is that for a 5 year old! So, I play with him and even let him win most of the time but the truth is, I can squash his little body with one swipe of my big paws. Don't worry, I haven't done that ~ at least not yet ~ but I certainly CAN do it if I wanted to!

Stay tuned... I heard they want to take me to dog training. HA! I'm a year old folks... don't you know you can't teach an old dog new tricks?!?

I am honored to have received the Stylish Blogger Award from Elaine Biss.

A few words about Elaine: First, she is one of the most talented artists I have had the honor to become acquainted with! Add to that, she happens to be one of the sweetest and creative people I have met on the web. Thanks girlfriend, for honoring me with this award!

By accepting this award, we agreed to the four "rules" that follow:

1. Thank and link back the person that awarded it to you
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Pay it forward to 15 recently discovered great Bloggers
4. Contact those Bloggers and tell them about their blog award


1. Thank and link back the person that awarded it to you:
Thank you Elaine! Visit her wonderful blog HERE

2. Share 7 things about yourself:

This is a tough one for me but I'll try...

1. I am addicted to Wii Fit and absolutely HATE missing a day of exercise.
2. I am secretly addicted to vanilla whey protein shakes mixed with frozen spinach and blueberries. I know, it sounds gross, but it is delicious!
3. I strongly believe in karma and we know it can be a b$%^& so do unto others!
4. I love the early mornings when the birds are singing and everyone else is still asleep. I feel like I have the whole world to myself :-)
5. I have a birthday card that my Mom gave me 5 months before she died and every year I put that card on the table with my other cards that are received. So, every year, I still have a piece of my Mom with me on my birthday.
6. I love ALL animals and have opened my heart (and my doors) to many strays in my life.
7. I can smell purple (not grape, PURPLE). And to me, skunk smells like bottled lemon juice (not the fresh kind).


3. Pay it forward to 15 recently discovered great Bloggers

This is rather difficult because I know a lot of great artists but here are just a few, in random order:

1. Geri Condon
2. The Best of Zazzle
3. Lora Severson
4. Dooni Designs
5. Gifts Bonanza
6. Marlo Dee Designs
7. Star Stream Design
8. Daydreams Designs by Cheri
9. Whimsical Wearables
10. Firecrackin' Mama
11. Jasmine Ward: Undefined
12. Marianne Gilliand
13. Amy Sagan
14. My Majik World
15. Mind's Eye

Please follow me, and also follow the above very creative bloggers!