Category Archives: My Furry Friend

“Hey! I Was Gonna Eat That!”

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Things were anything but calm around my house today. My roommate Allison came home to find the aftermath of my dog’s food-related rampage. She went hog wild. Or should I say…dog wild. First, she managed to reach a to-go container full of food that was sitting on the counter. Then, she figured out how to open the container despite her lack of opposable thumbs. Baffling, I know.

Allison sent me this photo. I was slightly offended by the message attached to it: “Did you do this?”

But that’s not all. Last night, Allison had set a ramekin of green beans on the table for me. Yes, she was making me eat my vegetables. What a drag, right?! Well, somehow I missed that memo, but my dog did not. In her effort to scarf them down, she knocked my beloved ramekin to the ground, leaving shards of glass all over the floor. But don’t worry, she was able to pick out every last bit of food without scratching her nimble little paws.

Oh good, I’m not the only one who breaks these things.

When I came home, there was no question of her guilt. Before I even gave her the “you’re in trouble” voice, she cowered in fear. I felt just like a dad whose kids were waiting for their punishment that mom was too weak to hand out. After I told her to come, she scooted over to me at a rate of approximately .35 MPH with her head lowered and eyes squinted. Allison and I tried to hide our laughter, but it was just too funny. After her long journey, I calmly told her she had been bad and grounded her for a week. That’ll teach her.

How can you not laugh at this?

Thank goodness she wasn’t able to reach a bowl of frosting that was sitting next to the to-go container. I have no doubt she tried.

I should’ve seen this coming. On two separate, recent occasions, I’ve come home to find unscathed Twizzlers strewn about my bedroom floor.* Actually eating the food was clearly the next step.

Author’s Note: I don’t normally keep refrigeration-necessary food sitting out all willy-nilly. I had taken a few things out of the fridge this morning to reach more important food and forgot to put them back before I left the house. As for the green beans, I’ve theorized that my subconscious tricked me into leaving them out so that the dog would eat them and I wouldn’t have to. Brilliant, right?! Kids? Hello?! Are you kidding me? There aren’t any kids out there to back me up? Whatever.

*I did not eat said Twizzlers. But I was tempted.

I’m a Dog Mom!

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Gather round, friends!  I have a very important announcement.  In order to provide an interactive blog-reading experience, I’ll let you guess what it could be (let’s assume you didn’t read the title of this post).  Better yet, I’ll give you several choices, because everything is better in multi-choice form.  A number of you already know what the news is.  Pretend you don’t.  It’s more fun that way.   Also, please know that I’m able to classify this event as “very important” due to the significant lack of exciting events in my life.

So, what do you think my big news is?

a)      I finished reading a whole book

b)      I participated in my first marathon

c)       I got my very own dog

d)      I finally saw Star Wars

The answer is “c”!  That’s right, I’m a dog mom!  I’ve been looking forward to getting my own dog for a few years, but couldn’t commit to getting one until recently.  By the way, all of the other choices above would be considered significant.

A girl I know was trying to find a new home for her family’s dog just as I was about to start looking for one.  It worked out perfectly.  She came to live with me a couple weeks ago and we’re getting along just splendidly.  I’m so glad I was able to take her and that she was so well taken care of by her previous owners.  Thanks again, previous owners!

Here are her stats:

Name:  Bella 

To answer your non-spoken question, no, I don’t know if she was named after Kristen Stewart’s character in Twilight.  Everyone asks.  My favorite such comments so far:

My brother, in response to my email announcement to my family:  “Cute.  Does she enjoy the company of werewolves and vampires?”

and…

Me:  “Her name is Bella.  I don’t know if it’s from Twilight.”

My friend, Jessica:  “What’s Twilight?”

Age:  4

I always assumed I would get a puppy, but this whole “get a dog after they’ve been trained” thing is simply wonderful.

Breed:  Beagle

I’ll be honest.  I had no idea what a beagle even looked like until now.  Apparently Snoopy was a beagle, but I’m having great difficulties seeing the resemblance.  Anyway, I’ve since learned a little bit about beagles and am surprised that more people don’t have them.

Best Qualities:  she’s cuddly, she doesn’t get into stuff, she sleeps through the night peacefully and, most importantly, she gets my jokes.

Least Best Qualities:  she tries to eat the windshield wipers when going for a car ride on a rainy day, she’s a picky eater and she’s clinically obese.

I could go on and on about my prized pup, but I think you would prefer seeing her in pictures.

Like me, Bella loves staring off into the distance and thinking deep thoughts.

What’s better than getting a bath and then taking a nap in a pile of dirt? Bella would argue nothing is better. Also, she loves sitting like a chicken.

I was a little worried about crating her during the day, so I did some “sympathy crating” to make her more comfortable with the whole crating concept.

She loves playing outside and she loves her new tennis ball (I think she might be a bit pretentious since she won’t play with her used one).

Bella likes her sleepy time, but doesn’t like to be left alone. In the mornings while I’m getting ready, she frequently gets all cozy under the covers and then makes a hole so she can see me. It’s creepy, but in the most adorable way.

To get her used to her new low-calorie food, I’ve been mixing her old food with her new food.  She loved the new food at first, but it made her sick the first time she ate it.  So, she’s decided she doesn’t like the new food.  Therefore, she’s become skilled at picking out the pieces of new food and leaving it on the floor in a terribly disorderly fashion.     

Occasionally, she looks at me as if to say “Are you about to beg me to pose for another picture? I don’t have time for this, Mom.”

Like all well-read dogs, Bella enjoys curling up by a fire and reading a good book.

I have a feeling Bella will be featured in some of my blog posts going forward, partly because she’s cute, but mostly because I’m a childless woman in my child-bearing years who doesn’t have children to take pictures of constantly.  So, won’t you join me in welcoming Bella?  She asked me to tell you “Ruff!,” which translates to “Hola!,” which translates to “Hello!”  We’re working on her English.