Sadness Falls Upon My New Home

If you've read with me then you know I've talked a lot about Dino, the Wire Fox Terrier that I share my new home with. He is a feisty little guy and when I first arrived here I didn't like him much but I have learned to respectfully steer clear of him. I do this because I know my humans love him and therefore he must have some redeeming qualities.

The other day he was acting odd (well, odder than normal). He didn't eat breakfast and the Mom kept paying a lot of extra attention to him. He eventually perked up (who wouldn't given all that attention!) and I thought maybe he was just faking it so that the Mom would give him more love than the rest of us.

The Mom was sad all day and even when I climbed onto her lap and licked her face to make her smile, she smiled with a sadness behind it. I tried to make her feel better and even laid right next to her and stared at her but she just gave me that sad smile.

Dino went back to sleep and the Mom brought him in his bed into the computer room and laid him near her as she worked on the computer. She had him covered in blankets and kept checking him and he would pick his head up and look at her but really didn't respond to her. At first, I thought "how ungrateful of him!" but then I realized there was much more going on.

The Mom eventually stopped working on the computer and picked Dino up. He hardly responded to her with a VERY slight wag of his short tail and she was talking so sweet to him. It's obvious she loves him very much. She sat on the sofa and held him all wrapped in his blanket. She was so sad that it made me sad. I could see the tears in her eyes and I guess she was sad because Dino was ignoring her.

At least, that's what I thought. Suddenly things moved quickly! The Mom was talking to the Dad and the kids were nervous and I'm not sure what was happening. The Mom was holding little Dino and she was crying really hard now and so were the kids. The Dad even had a tear in his eye. I got closer but I wasn't sure what had happened.

They all got into the car, the Mom carrying Dino in his blanket, and left us! I was scared but Speedy told me that something like this happened once before in the middle of the night and the humans got in the car with "Toast" (Dino's canine mother) but never came back home with her. I wonder if that's what happens if you ignore humans ~ do they take you away and never bring you home again?!? Maybe that's how I ended up in that shelter ~ I'll have to keep that in mind...

Summer Fun

We have lots of fun here in my new home. I love to swim and play in the sprinkler and I have even gone on the trampoline a few times. I don't really like to bounce on it but from there I can get a good view of the entire yard!

One day I found this mound of dirt in the yard and I stuck my face into it because it looked like it was moving. It was really fun to play in but all that dirt stuck to my face. It kinda itched so I had to come into the house and rub it all over the sofa to get the itching to stop. When the Mom caught me doing that she made me stop and she didn't seem too mad until she realized that the dirt on my face was from an ant hill. So THAT'S why it itched... those little suckers were all over my beard and crawling in my hair... they were sooo annoying! The Mom's reaction was priceless! Well, at least for the moment because once the clean-up began it was not fun. The Mom cleaned the ants on the inside of the house but I was taken outside and one of the children scrubbed my face and rinsed me off with the hose. THAT was not fun... I didn't want to sit for that but I did (for the most part). Then they had to brush my face to make sure all the ants were out of my beard ~ THAT was not fun either. I guess I won't be sticking my face in any more ant hills in the future.

I also love to spend my days trolling the yard for smells. You'd be surprised how many different scents are out there on a daily basis but the best part is at the end of the day when the humans cook outside.

There is this great big black thing out there that they put their food on and close the cover. They leave it in there for awhile and after they are done and go in the house to eat, that's when the fun begins. I wait until that black thing has cooled off and then I get up on the top of it and lick off all the delicious grease.

Actually, once the humans caught me doing this . . . . . . I was never able to do it again but it was really delicious.

This is Dino in the dish washer. Isn't he silly?!?

My friends and I even do dishes!

Life With Speedy

Lively And Exhausting

Speedy, the 5 year old Shiba Inu is a unique personality. First, he wants to play all the time. Second, and most important, he does naughty things in the house and then he has to be corrected by the Mom. For example, if no one is paying attention to him he grabs a pillow from the other room, comes into the room where we are all watching TV and runs passed everyone with the pillow in his mouth! If he didn't want the humans to know he had the pillow then why come into the room where all of us are? Obviously he does this to get the attention of the humans! He opens cabinet doors and takes shoes and runs around the house with them! Although he doesn't really destroy things, he certainly knows how to get the attention of the humans!

The best part about my relation with Speedy is that he lets me use him as a pillow!

Life With Dino

Talk About A Challenge!

Dino, the 13 year old Wire Fox Terrier is sure a piece of work around here. He REALLY thinks he's the boss but from what I hear, it's a terrier thing (and I don't understand it because I really thought I was the boss!)

So now, as the months go by, he is slowing down quite a bit more than he was when I first arrived. The Mom says he has health problems but he looks fine to me other than he can't always see me. This can cause a problem because once he realizes I'm standing next to him he gets really mad at me and snarls. I told you he was crabby but everyone else in this family seem to really love him. He is wayyyy different with the humans than he is with those of us who wear the fur in the family.

Anyway, I'll leave him alone because he is old but it is kinda fun to lay next to him because he doesn't usually know I'm there... heh heh... I love to tease him!

"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.