Rainy Night Argument

It was a rainy, rainy night tonight. All evening...rain, rain, rain.

When you gotta go outside to potty, the rain poses a bit of a problem. And when you don't like to get wet, then it's an even larger issue. And when you need to spend some time to, well, take care of your business outside, then the stupid rain is a huge, horrendous catastrophe.

That's the basis of the argument that Mom and I got into tonight. She said that I was too antsy because I had to poo and refused to do it. I said that there was no way I was going to do that when it was pouring down rain outside. I do not like to get wet.

After several rounds of bickering this evening, Mom did the unthinkable. She had the nerve to take me out on my leash and MAKE ME STAY OUTSIDE -- in the rain -- until I went poo! She kept yelling at me "GO POOP! GO POOP!" in the pouring rain. I got soaked. Mom got soaked. Eventually, though, I just broke down and did my thing so that we could go inside and she'd stop yelling "GO POOP!" like a crazy woman.

But when we got inside, I sure gave her the stink eye.

And then I went and hid under the blankie on the couch.

I really think this qualifies as doggie abuse. I'm sure of it. My only consolation is the fact that Mom got soaking wet right along with me. And, of course, all of our neighbors now think she's absolutely nuts...

Anipal Photo Hunt #15: THE VET

The theme for this week's Anipal Photo Hunt is "THE VET." Sadly, I've had quite a lot of experience with the vet over the last couple of months.

I've had some tummy trouble and some icky poos. So, the vet did lots of tests on me and poked me and prodded me. Then they gave me special prescription kibble to eat. At least it's yummy kibble...but that's the only thing I'm allowed to eat now. Hrmph.

I actually had to go to the vet a week ago, too, 'cause Mom thought I had an ear infection. Yep. She was right. Now we've got special antibiotic ear drops that Mom tortures me with twice a day. She waits until I'm all sleepy and comfy, then BAM! ear drops. Not fun.

Here's an example of the torture. I'm just napping, minding my own business, then Mom swoops in with the medicine...

Yes, I was trying very hard to ignore her. Thought maybe she'd go away if she thought I was really asleep!

I don't have any pictures of me at my new vet. I do have a picture of my insides from my trip to the vet last year, though. This was taken out in New Jersey, before I met my new Mom.

Ta dah!

Pretty cool, huh? OK, so maybe it's a little creepy, too, but it showed the vet that I didn't have any icky bladder stones in my tummy!

Check out these other anipals who are participating in this week's Photo Hunt...

My Round Bed

I love my round doggie bed! It actually came from my foster home last year. Shawnee saw how much I loved that bed and she let me have it when I moved to my new home. Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, part of the reason I love my round bed so much is 'cause it's so versatile. There's just SO much that you can do with this bed.

The obvious use is napping in it...

But when have I ever just left things "normal"?! That's not my style! So, in addition to napping in my bed, I also like to play with squeakies in it! I bat at them and roll on them. (This video is from last month, but it's good for illustrating this use of the round bed...)

It's also fun to play with my round bed on its side! I like to get squeakies in there and bat at 'em and squeak 'em this way.

It's also fun to flip the bed all of the way over and play on it that way!

Sometimes, just for fun, I even like to try to pull the foam off of the bottom of the bed. Mom doesn't seem to like that...

Mom does think it's pretty funny when I play underneath my upside-down bed, though. (In these pictures you can also see where I've "eaten" pieces of the foam from my bed...)



Finally, my round bed is even nice to nap in when it's upside-down. It may not look comfy...but it is!


Mom says we gotta find another one of these round beds soon 'cause I'm going to wear this one out (or eat it). He he he... I love my round bed!

The Story of Me

Minna Krebs is asking everyone to post "The Story of Me" to help celebrate her Gotcha Day. This is very, very timely for me because my own Gotcha Day is on Friday. That's right...Friday, November 26 will be the 1-year anniversary of when I was adopted by Mom!

Things are pretty good for me now, and I'm being spoiled absolutely rotten. Got my Mom trained pretty good, too. Life is good...but things haven't always been so good for me.

You see, two years ago I was dumped. Yep. A bad woman just dumped me out of the car and left me all alone on the streets. I was picked up by some people and I eventually ended up at Companion Critters, a rescue group in New Jersey. I was a lucky pup 'cause I didn't actually end up at a shelter.

So Companion Critters found me a new home and I went to live with those people. But then, after almost a year with them, they took me back to my foster home. I didn't do anything wrong...but I was returned. I was just turning 9 years old...and I have bad allergies...so lots of people considered me "unadoptable" at that point.

If you want to read about the rest of my story up until them, check it out over on the Companion Critters website. (It's a good read...especially since you know my happy ending! Oh, and it involves the cops getting that bad woman, too!)

Anyway, you may remember me talking about my sister Lexi-Lou. Well, she had a blog and a Twitter account. In September of last year, Lexi and Mom found out about me over on Shawnee's blog. (Lots of you know Shawnee -- she's a German Shepherd who has great hiking adventures!) Anyway, Mom fell for my cute little face. Over the next couple of months, Mom started talking to Shawnee's Mom, and they eventually decided that Mom and Lexi-Lou were going to adopt me and be my forever and ever family. Lexi and I were both Shih Tzus, and we were both almost the exact same age! Mom didn't think I was old...I was just the same age as Lexi-Lou. And my allergies weren't a problem at all.

But things were a little tricky. You see, Shawnee lives in New Jersey and my soon-to-be-new family lives in Illinois. Do you know what Shawnee and her Mom did, though? On Thanksgiving Day last year, they loaded up the car and drove me all of the way to Illinois so that I could have my forever and ever family. That was half-way across the country!

When I met my new family, I fit right in. Everyone thought I'd have to take some time to adjust, but I proved them wrong. I was playing with toys right away. I even helped unpack the toys that Shawnee let me keep from her house!

So that's my story. Pretty cool, huh? Mom spoils me rotten now, especially with all of the toys. But I really love toys, and Mom says she's just making up for the bad stuff I went through. I get scared sometimes that I'm going to be dumped again...or that I'm going to have to go to yet another new family. But Mom says that's not happening. She says that I'm stuck with her forever and ever.

My story isn't really complete, though, until I say one more thing...and that's a big THANK YOU to Shawnee and her mom. It's because of their love and dedication to their fosters that I was able to find my forever and ever and ever family. Thanks so much, Shawnee!

Determination...

I've decided that I should be able to get into my tent through the little space where the tunnel connects to the tent itself. Mom tells me I'm too big to fit through there and that I should just use the door instead. I'll show her...

Almost got my head stuck once tonight already. Oops. But I'm going to still keep trying anyway...

Anipal Photo Hunt #14: MOM!

The theme for this week's Anipal Photo Hunt is "MOM!" We're supposed to introduce you to our Moms or Mr. Moms.

Took me a while to find a photo 'cause Mom and I don't have many pictures of us together. Mom says she'd rather just take pictures of me 'cause of my cuteness. He he he.

Anyway, here's my Mom...

And here's a picture of Mom and I and my sis Lexi-Lou when I met Mom and Lexi for the very first time. That's right...it's a pic from my Gotcha Day, almost one whole year ago!

So that's my Mom. Here are some other anipals' Moms...

Mischief Maker

I've been known to be a little ornery. Today I proved that once again.

While Mom was at work, I got a little sick to my stomach. Did I pick a nice, out-of-the-way place to pukey? Nope. I decided to get sick right on the couch...and I even chose the exact spot on the couch that Mom usually sits in.

Mom wasn't amused. But, she knew she couldn't say anything 'cause I was sick. (It's a valid excuse!)

Then, while Mom was cleaning up the mess on the couch, I went into the bathroom and I knocked over the garbage can again. Unfortunately, though, Mom emptied it out after I did that the last time, so I couldn't make too much of a mess. Darn it!

So after Mom picked up that mess, she came back out into the living room and I gave her one of my great, "Who, me?" looks.

She didn't buy it, though, so I knew I had to turn on the cuteness. I snuggled up with my sheep toy in my round bed.

That melts Mom every time. Puke? Garbage can? Cute puppy pose, and all is forgotten!

Who Needs a Door?

Door? I don't need no stinking door! (He he he!)

The other night I even pushed the whole toy box out the side of the tent. Easier to get to the toys that way...

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

We got a package the other day from DogToys.com! That's the happiest place on earth, you know. (Well, in MY opinion it is, at least!)

Inside my box was a turkey! Instead of squeaking, he says "gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble." Mom thinks it's a nice change from the typical squeaks she hears all the time. He he he.

I went a little crazy, playing with Mr. Gobble. Mom and I played tug for a bit.

Then we played fetch. She tossed him down the hallway...

...and eventually I brought him back!

I took my new turkey in my princess tent to play for a bit. Mom once again invaded my hidey spot by taking pictures.

I rolled on my turkey...or near the turkey, at least...

And Mom and I played tug some more!

There was a whole lot of gobbling going on for a while. I wore myself out, of course. Had to nap with my new turkey.

I love my new turkey toy!

Wait a minute. I just realized that box was MUCH bigger than just my turkey toy. There had to have been something else in there. I wonder if Mom's holding out on me again...

Oops, I Did It Again...

Mom thought my "garbage tipping" was a phase. She also thought I was over that phase since I hadn't dumped the trash in a few months.

Mom was wrong.

Anipal Photo Hunt #13: From Where I Stand...

The theme for this week's Anipal Photo Hunt is "From Where I Stand..." It's my point of view on things, literally. So I decided to show you my favorite places in our house -- from where I stand, of course.

The most important place in our house is my princess tent. So here's what I see when I'm sitting inside it.

The door I use sometimes:

Coming into the tent through the tunnel (use it a lot):

My toy box inside the tent (VERY important!):

So that's how my tent looks from my point of view. My other favorite spot in our house is underneath Mom's bed. Here's what that looks like:

Yeah...it's dark in there most of the time...

So that's how things look from where I stand. Here's some other anipals and their vantage points:

The Send Buttons Toys Campaign

A while back, Mom and I were having a disagreement about the amount of dog toys in our house. Mom claimed that we had too many toys. I say there's no such thing. My main argument is the fact that since Mom and I share our house, I should get 50% of the space here. Makes complete sense to me. And, according to my logic, that means I should get lots MORE toys.

My friend Cathy Keisha agrees with me. In fact, after my post about the argument with Mom, Cathy Keisha suggested that we start the Send Buttons Toys Campaign in order to really show my Mom who's boss. That, my friends, is pure brilliance.

And I got a box in the mail this weekend from Cathy Keisha. She took the campaign to heart. Take THIS, Mom! He he he.

The box was bigger than me...

I dove right in just as soon as Mom opened the box.

Check out what Cathy Keisha sent me! There's a lamb and a red doggy and a blue bumpy bone and an M&M Man!

Mom said the M&M Man was for her and she stole it. How rude. She "claims" that the card said it was for her since she's such an M&M fanatic. Whatever.

I made sure to put all the rest of those new toys in my round bed so that Mom would know they are MINE and not hers.

They're in my bed. That means they're mine.

Once we straightened out that issue, Mom and I played fetch with the new blue bumpy bone. here's me waiting for Mom to throw it. I'm ready to pounce!

After we'd played with the new toys for a while, I decided to check out that box again, just to make sure we got everything out of it.

OK...so maybe I really just wanted to play in the box. Boxes can be fun, too, you know.

After all that playing, I decided to nap for a while with my new lamb.

Big thanks to Cathy Keisha for inventing and supporting the Send Buttons Toys Campaign! She really helped me show Mom that I deserve more toys...and I deserve more room for my toys. (Mom says thanks for the M&M Man she stole from me, too.)

If anyone else would like to join the Send Buttons Toys Campaign, just let me know! Let's show my Mom who's boss!!!

Toki Poki Trading Cards

Some of my friends have gotten their very own trading cards from Toki Poki. Mom ordered cards for me, but Boris and Pumpkin sent me their cards before I even had my own to trade with! Wasn't that nice of them?

Pumpkin sent her card in a package that was way too big for just the card. I found a TOY in there, too!

Isn't that cool? Thanks, Pumpkin!

And then look at what came in the mail this weekend...

Oh, sorry. Guess I shouldn't have "supervised" the photo-taking so closely. Here's a better shot:

That's right...my cards just arrived! Boris and Pumpkin...watch for the postal people!