A Year in the Life

I'm a dog.  Can you believe that one year ago today (okay yesterday, since it took Alicia so long to get this up!), Matthew and Alicia adopted me from the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria and brought me to my forever home?  It's been a wild ride.

I went from a little 28 pound 5-month-old puppy to a 55 pound year-and-a-half old dog.

Taken on my second day at home.

Taken just last week.

I went from the "cone of shame" to my patriotic leg brace.

I went from hating my crate, to loving my crate, to preferring "my" chair.

I went from hating car rides to LOVING car rides.

I don't like!

You need a ride?

 I vacationed in Cape May, visited Grandma and Grandpa's house in Parsippany, visited the Giobbi side of the family in Lancaster, PA and even joined Alicia and Matt on an overnight to Maryland's Eastern Shore (where I ate the bedspread...oops).

My first taste of the beach.

Snuggles with Aunt Meghan and Nanna!

There's a cow in that barn, and I didn't like it.

I learned that I love children - especially the little ones that ride in strollers and always keep a stash of food debris on their faces and hands.  I learned that I hate delivery (mail, UPS, FedEx, furniture, etc.) people and also the garbage man.  I attack the mail every day just to prove it.

Hangin' with Mr. Connor.

Sniffin' around with Patrick's kids.

I love every dog I've ever met.  Even the ones that growl and/or bark at me.  Even the ones that are afraid of me or ignore me.  When they give me the chance, they love me too! Except Tonka.  He just thinks I'm too high energy and won't stand for my nonsense.  But I'll keep working on him!

Attacking my very best dog friend, Chili

I've had so much fun in my first year with Matthew and Alicia.  I can't wait to tell you all about the fun and adventures we have as time goes by.

My Evil Twin, Molly Maunute

I'm a dog.  A good dog.  Sure I don't always listen or do what I'm supposed to do, even though I know the rules.  But I'm a good girl.  I hear it all the time.  I'm pretty good at "sit," and have been steadily improving at "stay."  I'm awesome at "down."  I'm working on "rollover." "Paw" still doesn't make any sense to me.  And you're not likely to see me "play dead" anytime soon.

What I lack in following commands, I make up for in my sweet-as-sugar, eager to let-you-love-me disposition.  I can win over even the biggest skeptic in a matter of seconds when I put on my bashful face and wag my entire body.  Folks seem to especially love it when we make eye contact and I immediately sit or lay down - whether I'm in the middle of crossing the street, playing in the grass or strolling on the sidewalk - and wait patiently for them to walk over towards me, banging my tail and putting on my most adorable and innocent pit bull faces.  My cow spots don't hurt either.

When other dogs bark at me, I don't bark back.  I let them get it out of their system while I wait in play stance.  When they growl or snap (as yes, some dogs do when they meet a new dog), I just wait.  I give them every opportunity to love and never - not once ever - have I reacted in a manner that could even possibly be construed as negative.  It's just not my style.  I'm always happy.  Always loving.  I give dogs (and people) as much time as they need to love me.  And I never give up.  I'm still working on getting a neighbor dog, Kona Bean, to love me.  He's one tough cookie.  I'll break him...with LOVE!

From the positive reactions I get, you'd think I was one-of-a-kind.  But I recently learned that I have a twin.  An evil twin!  I learned about Miss Molly Maunute from a magazine we received in the mail.

Cover model Molly!

When Matthew first saw it, he said to Alicia "How did they get a photo of Molly? Did they take one at the vet's office?"  Alicia was giddy, but also confounded.  How did they get that photo of me looking so silly? The puparazzi must have snapped some shots on my last walk.  Then she looked again.  That wasn't me!  And the magazine cover wasn't even advertising me.  It was advertising Molly Maunute!

On closer examination, that's not me!
And my name is spelled wrong!

But these are some nice recommendations...

We discussed it as a family and decided that Molly Maunute must be my evil twin.  Now, I know what you're thinking.  Molly Maunute doesn't look evil.  And she isn't.  It's just that, compared to me, Mother Teresa is evil.  That's just what a sweetheart I am.

My Buddy and Me

I'm a dog.  I wasn't alive in the 1980s, but if I was, I would've asked Matt and Alicia to give me My Buddy for my birthday.  I love to play all the time and what could be better than having a friend to play with all the time?  Alas, I was not around in the 80s and even if they still made My Buddy, Matt and Alicia probably wouldn't buy it for me because they'd be worried I'd chew on and tear apart his head, much like I did to that tennis ball toy I got a few weeks ago (which I'm happy to note was completely demolished shortly after the last photo Alicia posted).

Even better than a My Buddy doll would be an actual dog that I could play with and snuggle and chew on all the time!  No, Matt and Alicia have not given into my pleas for a new puppy (they say one puppy is enough, thankyouverymuch!).  But we did go up to New Jersey to visit her family, and it was there I had the opportunity to get a taste of what it would be like to have a sibling.

We would snuggle up for naps...

...and she wouldn't mind how I move around in my sleep.

We would go on long walks together...

...And she would be patient with me when I
abruptly decided to lay down on the ground...

...only to walk a bit further before deciding I
wanted to stop and sniff and rest again...

...and then literally take a handful of steps before deciding
I needed to stop and eat some grass.

It would be fantastic! We could drink out of the same water bowl, and steal cat food together.  We could bark at strange noises and animals that trespass in the yard (wild turkeys, I'm looking at you!). What a life.

And I wouldn't have to give a grumpy face
when it was time to leave, because we'd
ALWAYS be together!

I would also take a human puppy, but Matt and Alicia have also said no to that.  I tried to show them what a good sibling I'd be by sharing my favorite orange ball with my cousin Shaun (who STOLE my ball and then kept flaunting it in my face and NOT throwing it to me, while I waited patiently for him to share. They were unconvinced.

Look at what a good sister I would be! Happily sharing!

So at least for the meantime, it looks like I'm just going to have to entertain myself and encourage Matt and Alicia to make as many playdates with bestdogfriend Chili as they can.  And, since Alicia's family is up in NJ/PA and we're down in DC, I guess we'll just have to keep taking car rides (my most favorite thing) to ensure that I get to spend as much time with my dog and human family as possible.

I snuck into the front seat while Alicia was
driving down the Turnpike.  It scared her.

At the rest stop, she put me back in the back.
Party pooper!  I stick my tongue out at you!

  

Cat, it's a Kitty Cat...and it Meow, Meow, Meow

I'm a dog.  Today, Alicia and I traveled to New Jersey to spend the weekend with some friends and family.  I was excited to come because it meant a car ride (Yay!) and also that I'd have another opportunity to meet some cats.  Some kitty cats.



As I think I previously mentioned, Alicia's parents have 4 cats. FOUR CATS!  I keep trying to meet them, but they always seem to have something else to do that they're running off to.  Alas.

But today, I got to meet one up close!  It was Willow(brook).  Here's a quick photo Alicia was able to capture as I approached her.

I put my face in her face. She hissed in my face.  I started sniffing her face and getting in closer.  She hissed again. I kept sniffing. Then she hissed and swatted at me.  But before her swat could connect, I bopped her on the head.  It kind of looked like this:

[via] 

Quoit a Minute!

I'm a dog.  I haven't posted in a while.  But it's not my fault.  I've had plenty to say.  It's just that Alicia hasn't had the time to type it up.  I sent her a clear message (more on that later) that it was time for this nonsense to stop and prioritize me!

Two weeks ago we spent the weekend in Pennsylvania.  First we headed out to Lancaster to stay with Matt's Uncle Bill and Aunt Susan who hosted the whole family for a weekend of eating and playing quoits!  As usual, I was the star of the show.

My adoring public of Cousin Emily and Dogmother Amanda.

I wasn't allowed on the chairs, so I made
this footrest my throne.

Alicia baked a tasty monkey bread that everyone drooled over and yammered on about all weekend.  Of course, when I asked for a piece I was told "No!" and "Not for puppies!" Typical.  I wasn't allowed to do any of the other eating either.  All I got was dog food. Lame. I did get to try ice though, and that was a lot of fun.  I came across a pile of it poured out on the grass and went about licking it and then chewing it.  I couldn't quite figure out what was going on, but it seemed to make me happy to chomp on it.  Alicia foolishly forgot to have a camera on-hand though, so no photographic evidence.

Puppy snuggles with Cousin Emily.

A belly rub from Cousin Lee

One thing I did get to do - for approximately 1 minute - was play quoits.  What? You've never heard of quoits?  Me neither.  It's kind of like horseshoes, but instead of playing with horseshoes in a dirt pit, you play with rubber discs on a slate board.  First, I watched to get a hang of the rules.

Then, when I was comfortable, I joined in on a game.  Here I am playing with Cousin Emily and my Dogmother Amanda.

I also got to meet D-Nute (aka Deric), one of the three (other than me) living Manutes.  He was very excited to meet me.  I was also very excited to meet him.

Molly Manute meets Deric Manute!

We stayed overnight and the next morning I joined the ladies on a walk in the country (aka around the neighborhood).  It was during this walk that I heard some strange low bellowing sounds coming from a barn.  I was very concerned and stopped in my tracks.  I tried to locate the source of the noise.  What was it?  Turns out it was "my people" calling me home to them.  We were walking by a dairy farm and it was the cows!

You probably can't see it, but there's a cow in that barn.

I was pooped after our walk.
(But I still went out for a 3-mile run with Amanda!)

It was an exhausting weekend, but it wasn't over yet.  Late Sunday morning we piled back into the car and off to Chalfont, PA to celebrate Ava's 9th birthday!

Oh, and remember how I said I'd tell you about how I let Alicia know it was time to start blogging and stop with all her other silly priorities?  Well, it's not later.  Yet.

When Puppies Attack!

I'm a dog.  In the mornings (at least while Alicia is on summer vacation) I like to get together with one of my pit bull friends and have a good romp.  Chili is three years old, so sometimes I have to really jump on his head and climb on him to get him to want to play as much as I do.  We bite each others faces and paws, jump on each other and knock each other down, chase each other and just generally have a really great time.  Alicia brought a camera along today to photograph some of the fun!

Chili wants to sit and rest. I want to play!

Yay! I win! Playtime!

Trying to lure Chili in by rolling around...

It didn't work. I just got very sandy.

Good thing I found this random children's Ugg boot to chew on!

What you don't see in the photos is where I break away from playing to hunt for cat poop to eat.  The sand of the volleyball court makes for a veritable litter pan!  So much poop!

Even More New Friends (and a Gender Debate)!

I'm a dog.  I can't believe how many people love me and want to be friends with me!  Last night, two of Alicia's co-worker friends came by the house.  I was a little upset that they didn't invite me to trivia with them, so I got back at them by nibbling their toes and licking their feet.  Something tells me they'll remember to invite me next time.

Contrary to my first impression, Erin and Kelley aren't twins.
They just dress alike and have red hair. Works for me!

One thing we don't have a picture of, however, was me showing them my "fit through the cat door" trick.  Alicia told them the story and they looked at the cat door and said "No way! She can't possibly fit through that!"  So of course, they had to see.  Erin put me in the kitchen (luring me in with fresh water - gets me every time) and then opened the cat door.  Heck if I didn't squirm through that door in seconds flat.  Kelley was shouting "You're not a cat!" and Erin was laughing.  I think that means they were impressed with my skills.

Erin questioned why, if I was a girl dog, I had a blue collar.  Alicia told her that, believe it or not, they will sell blue collars to people who own girl dogs.  Who knew?  Girl dogs aren't restricted to red, pink and purple.  It's the 21st century.  Dogs can wear any collar they want!  Erin isn't the first one to be puzzled by the blue collar though, it's actually a common source of confusion.  People come up to me, see the blue collar and assume I'm a boy, saying things like "He's such a cute dog!" "He's a puppy!" etc.  Then they either ask my name or I flip over onto my back to request a belly rub and their reaction is something akin to "Wha???? Oh, it's a girl."  It's funny, because boy dogs never seem to have a problem figuring out that I'm a girl.  They come over, sniff and then try to mount me.  I know I'm cute, but boys, please.  Some manners!  Take me out for a dog biscuit first.  

Anyway, all of this gender-bending had me thinking about a cool story Alicia read and told me about, called The Story of X and that got me thinking about the "Real-life Baby X" and how people are getting so bent out of shape about not knowing whether someone else's child is a boy or a girl.  And I know this is a light, fluffy blog where people come to look at cute pictures and read funny stories, but I'm going to get a little deep right now.  What does it matter whether I'm a boy or a girl?  Aren't I cute and playful and sometimes well-behaved no matter whether I'm a boy or girl?  Aren't my ears just as soft? My spots just as cow-looking? I think so.

And all that reminds me that today a man said I was so good looking that I was "movie star dog" good looking.  He complimented my markings and my brown ear and otherwise stark white coat.  Alicia thanked him and gave a little laugh (because people are always randomly coming up to her and saying what a looker I am) and he said "No, I'm serious. That's a good-looking dog."  I'm a dog.

More New Friends!

I'm a dog.  Meeting new friends is my favorite thing to do.  I try to meet new friends every day.  Over the weekend I had the opportunity to make MORE new friends.  These particular friends are folks that Alicia met years ago in college at TCNJ (back when I was but a glimmer in the glimmer of the glimmer of some dog's eye).  Several of Alicia's freshman floormates live in the DC area, so it was a great chance to get the gang together.

Chris and his wife Leslie are planning a big move to Beijing in August and just had to come see everyone.  Or at least that's the reason everyone was publicly stating.  I know it's because Chris had read my blog and wanted to make sure he got the opportunity to give me pets and scratches and in turn receive face licks and snuggles, before he ventured to China.  And so I made sure to give him lots of love.

Crazy-eyed from all the love!

They just can't get enough of me!

On my way to a face lick with Fun Uncle Chris!

Kisses (and nibbles) with Bonny!

Ben finds my rubber chicken and more fun ensues!

A great time was had by all!  The only things that could have made it better are if Melissa and Ted didn't have to leave for vacation and thus could've come over (as I think Jackson and I would've become fast friends) and if Matt had allowed Alicia to buy one of the special dog biscuits at Carlyle Grill, where the humans went for brunch.  I mean, come on, Matt.  It was $1, and it would have been a nice treat. Cheapo!

Still, I love meeting new friends.  Do you want to be my friend? If you do, you should come over too!

*Well, almost everyone.  Regrettably, Stephanie couldn't make it, because she had a wedding in NJ.