Favorite Places: The Pool!

I'm a dog.  You may remember that at the end of last summer, I went a pool party called the "doggie dip."  It was great!  I hated the pool part, but I LOVED all the dogs.

They don't let the dogs into the pool area during the summer, but that's fine by me.  I just like to see what's going on.  And during the summer, the pool is filled with my favorite people: BABIES*!

I drag Matt and Alicia to the pool every day just so that we can see who is there and I can try to entice the walking babies to toddle on over to me and let me lick their hands and faces while they point at me, pet me and say things like "Dog!" and "Cow!" (understandable) and (my personal favorite) "Puppies! Puppies! Puppies!"

Walking the pool perimeter (outside the fence).

Watching the kids!

Getting a closer look

Let me in! I want to play!

I am the Puppy Pool Queen!

So happy to be here!

I can't wait until the "doggie dip" comes around again.  It should be in just a few weeks.  I haven't decided whether or not I want to go in the pool this time, but I got some good practice being in the water up to my chest when we went to a Chesapeake Bay beach one afternoon. Of course, that's also the day that I drank a gallon of bay water and ate a pound of sand**, so I wasn't really making good decisions that day. We shall see!

*My new best friends are my year-old baby neighbors Bea and Luke.  They love to see me, and I love to lick them. We have a great time. Other than stealing their toys, I'm a gentle good girl with them.

** I was puking bay water for 12 hours and then pooping bay sand for another 12 hours! It was not fun.

I'm A Big Girl!

I'm a dog.  Not a puppy.  But a real dog.  The proof is in my food.  Over the summer we transitioned from my puppy kibble (Nature's Recipe Lamb and Rice) to my big girl food (Nature's Recipe Lamb and Rice)!

Same flavor, different age.

Giving the new food a tentative sniff.

And then a "taste test."

The new food and the old food mixed together while I transition.

The transition went great!

But then Alicia went off-script and when it was time to buy more adult food, she bought a bag of Nature's Recipe Chicken, Pumpkin and Sweet Potato.  Matthew wasn't happy that she bought a more expensive and different food without discussing it first, but not only did my digestive track LOVE the new flavor, my mouth did too!  Now, instead of slowly eating my food and tossing it all around the kitchen while I eat, I hunker down and eat the whole thing.  And when I poop, it smells like pumpkin and sweet potatoes! The end.

Family Vacation 2012

I'm a dog. If I had opposable thumbs, this post would have gone up over a month ago, but alas, Alicia had other things to do and said she'd get around to it when she got around to it.  Fast forward a month and a half, and you still have no idea what I did on family vacation this year! So, here are the highlights:

Morning, afternoon and evening walks on the beach.

Sniffed things on the beach!

Laid out on the stoop.

Slept on the stoop.

Snuggled up to horseshoe crabs.

Sniffed horseshoe crabs.

Didn't get to see amazing sunsets because
Matt and Alicia left me at home while they
went out to dinner.

Played with dogs on the beach!

Went out into the bay water...

And got surprised by waves!

Fell asleep on the couch when no one was looking.

Climbed up on the couch when Matthew went to get a drink.

Rode in the car!

What a great trip!

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.

Brace Yourself

I'm a dog.  And I'm proud to be an American.  That's why, when Alicia and Matthew ordered up my new leg brace, I insisted it have a "stars and stripes" design (which, incidentally, complements my blue collar, red leash and white fur just perfectly!).

My first few steps with the brace.

I'm still getting used to the brace, so walking a bit funny.

I got this brace from OrthoPets.  It's custom-made, just for me.  Matt and Alicia are hoping that this brace will provide the support and stability I need in order to heal the partial tear in my cruciate ligament (aka doggy ACL) so that we can avoid the expense and extended recovery time of surgery.

It's almost as fun to wear as it is to chew!

Being a puppy in a brace is exhausting!

I've decided: I don't like!

 I wasn't sure about the brace, but when they told me that surgery meant I would only be allowed to go outside to go to the bathroom and would then have to come right back inside and lay down in my crate, and that this would happen for weeks, I thought perhaps I would give it a try.

Or maybe it isn't so bad.

 I love to go outside and I love to play.  We're hoping that a few weeks to months with this brace will have me healed.  I'll keep you updated on my progress!

 Until then, I'm beat.  I'm going to take a nap.

Why's Everybody Always Pickin' on Me?

I'm a dog.  And in case you forgot, I'm a pit bull.  I'm probably (no exaggeration) one of the sweetest most friendly dogs you will ever meet.  I get along great with dogs of every age and size.  When dogs are aggressive with me, I don't respond.  I just back off a little and hope they'll calm down.  I always try again to make them my friend.

It's true, if you're wearing a hat or are entering one of the homes in my neighborhood and I don't recognize you, I might bark at you.  I won't attack. I just want to be sure who you are and maybe scare you off if you're up to no good.  Once you take off your hat, I'll come over and lick your face (or at least I'll try).  If you're a smoker and you try to pet me, I'll probably back off quickly.  It's not because I don't like you.  It's because I have a sensitive nose.  I'm always sniffing, and I don't like smoke.  But I won't be mean to you.  I'll still wag my tail - just from a distance.  I'll admit that I'm not fond of the mailman or UPS man (or the garbage man for that matter!).  They come to our house every day, dropping things off and picking things up, but they always leave in a hurry.  They never stay to chat.  I bark at them.  I'm not sure what they're up to, and I just want to keep my people safe.  I only bark though, I would never attack.  I don't even growl. I just want to let them know I know what they're up to!

But I'm a pit bull.  And because of that, no matter what I say and no matter how good of a girl I am, people think I should be outlawed and put down.  Recently, the State of Maryland (where I'm originally from), ruled that pit bulls and pit bull crosses are inherently "dangerous."  Alicia read a blog about it that was posted on the WTOP blog.  She agreed with everything the poster said.

Then she read the comments.  And she couldn't disagree more with some of the heartless things that people were saying.  She told me all about the people who said that all pit bulls should be killed because they have been bred for ill pursuits.  Have they ever met me? They also said that pit bull owners only get pit bulls to put out a certain image.  Just what image are Matt and Alicia trying to project?

I'm going to guess that they haven't met me.    I'd love to meet them though.  And show them what a loving and good girl I am.  I'd like to change their minds.

The Case of the Couch Snuggler

I'm a dog.  Last week, it seems that someone broke into our house in the middle of the night!  I'm not sure how I missed the perpetrator, but when Alicia came downstairs in the morning, here's what the couch looked like:

Cushions, blanket and pillows askew.

Alicia tried to question me, but I was sound asleep, just like I was through the whole night...

See how tight my eyes are closed? I didn't see anything!

Wouldn't you know it, the "Couch Snuggler" struck again the next night:

Same destruction patterns.

Sadly, I slept through the home invasion again.  No witnesses.  No suspects.

Then, on Sunday afternoon, while Alicia was cleaning the closets, the "Couch Snuggler" struck again.  This time, Alicia was able to get a blurry photograph of someone leaving the scene:

Unidentifiable suspect.

Due to the poor quality of the photograph, it is unclear whether the "Couch Snuggler" is a cat or possibly even a cow.  One thing is for sure: I will keep a lookout to make sure he/she doesn't strike again!