Snowsuit up!

Here's Ellie's snowsuit. She has boots too but she's not sure how she feels about them yet...

I think Ozzy may be jealous of Ellie's new outfit. Or, he may be thinking he's happy he doesn't look ridiculous. You never know with cats.
Speaking of ridiculous. I'm pretty sure Ozzy thought my attempt to be a cat on Halloween was ridiculous as well.

Rest In Peace

**note** the pictures suck because they are taken by a cell phone. I have better ones but they're on another computer.

My bird, Boo died yesterday. I am actually taking it kind of hard. I couldn't sleep and I feel sad that it happened when I wasn't there. He seemed like he was healthy. I had him out the day before and he was whistling and was in a very good mood. I don't know how he died, but I noticed he wasn't whistling when I got home from work and found him at the bottom of the cage unresponsive. It was sudden, which I think is always harder than it is when something is sick and kind of prepares you for the death.

I've had Boo for 8 years. I was 16 years old when I bought him. I had my first job and spent my first entire pay check on him. A whopping $200. It was a lot to me at the time. Leave it to me to buy an animal with my first pay check. I thought he was awesome. He would sit on my shoulder when I was in high school while I did my homework. When I first went to college he would ride on my shoulder the entire 4 hour drive. It's kind of weird to think of that 8 year time period. I graduated high school, went to college in 2 different cities, got married, finished college, and got my first career type job. He was with me during the transition from being a teenager to adulthood. I always thought that he would outlive Ellie & Ozzy because I've heard that some cockatiels live to be 30 years old.

I'm really going to miss him. It's already too quiet in my apartment and I hate that feeling. I'm going to miss him waking me up on Saturday & Sunday mornings with the Andy Griffith song or Yesterday by the Beatles. I'm going to miss him squawk loudly with excitement when I make popcorn (he loved popcorn). Every time I would come home I'd say, "hi Boo" and he would respond by whistling two notes. It's going to be hard not hearing him anymore. But mostly I'm just going to miss HIM. He taught me that birds have personalities, intelligence and feelings.

Now I know this is kind of morbid but I put his body in my freezer so I could wait to bury him at my parents house. Don't worry, he's wrapped up in some cloth and in a plastic bag. I can't just throw the body in the trash. That seems so wrong. He's in the freezer right next to the frozen chicken. I started to think that I wouldn't eat my own bird why would I eat another bird? I don't think I can eat chicken for a while.

Anyway, here is a picture of me and Boo during my last year of college.



Rest in peace, Boo. I love you and am going to miss you.

The Cat Lady?!

OK... so I may have another animal. It isn't official or anything. Let me explain....
So for the past couple of months there has been this cat that is around my apartment. It is super friendly and likes to be petted. I always figured it must belong to someone. However, recently I've noticed it has become super skinny so I started feeding it. Now this is what I refer to as MISTAKE #1. Not that it is really a mistake to feed a hungry animal but it now WAITS for me to come home from work to feed it!!!! Then there is what I refer to as MISTAKE #2..............

I NAMED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Why did I do this??!! Now I feel like I have this responsibility and I don't know what to do.

Anyway the cat's name is now Bagheera. You know, the black panther on the Disney movie The Jungle Book? The cat is completely black and has the prettiest green eyes ever!!! And it's so sweet.

I know that no one really reads this blog but if you do and want a cat please comment below!!!!!! Bagheera needs a home. She's super friendly and sweet. She even gets along with Ellie so I know that she is good with dogs. Please if you want a cat tell me!! I cannot become the "cat lady!" I totally have those tendencies and I'm fighting it with every ounce of resistance that I have. I already have a dog, cat, and bird and cannot have anymore! I do not live on a farm. I live in a 2 bedroom apartment for crying out loud!!

If no one wants Bagheera I will continue to feed her because I cannot have it on my conscience not to. I might even make it a little bed on my porch with a heating blanket for the winter. I can't let it in the house for the sake of the bird. Plus Ozzy is kind of upset about the whole thing.
If I end up getting a house I will take Bagheera with me and officially have another cat. But until then........I am just going to officially FEED the cat not OWN it. I might even take it to the Humane Society but the idea of it make me feel sad.

Big things come in small packages

It's amazing how a little 10 pound creature could bring so much happiness into my life.

A Poem

This morning, I woke up & kissed my Dad's head.
I peed on the carpet, then went back to bed.
"The life of a puppy, oh my, this is great."
Then I thought about breakfast, "I hope it's not late."
Mom took me outside, we walked for a while.
This never fails to make Mama smile.
I sniffed of everything, that we did pass, I ate something weird - it gave me gas.
I'm sure God loves me, I know that is true.
He gave me so many great things to chew.
Rugs, plants or rocks, I really don't care.
What I truely like best, is Dad's underwear.
That obedience book, was sort of yummy.
Though it didn't sit well on my poor puppy tummy.
I threw up a bit, but that was all right.
When Mom found it later, I was well out of sight.
I made streamers of T.P, while running at full speed.
Mom is pretty quick - but I was still in the lead.
I flew under the bed, and Mom flew past,
She stopped-shook her head, and breathed, "You're too fast."
Mama later phoned Daddy, and said, "it was frightening!"
That afternoon, she was sure I'd pooped lightening.
She'd sat at the computer, while I chewed the cord,
She thought I was mad, but I was just bored.
When Mama had enough, couldn't take anymore,
That's when my tushy got shoved out the door.
I love it inside, but outside is best.
Lay in the cool grass, and had a good rest.
That didn't last long, there was too much to do -
Can't quite remember where I hid Daddy's shoe.
I found an old bone, and scratched at a flea,
I watched the dumb squirrels as they jumped in a tree.
I barked at the kids, when they got off the bus.
I can't figure out why this makes Mama fuss.
I barked at the neighbor, I barked at the wind.
I barked and I barked, till Mom yelled,"Come in!"
The sun dipped in the west - soon Daddy would come!
I sure love my Daddy: We always have fun.
I barked at my Daddy, then turned on my charms,
I woo-wooed,"Hello", then jumped in his arms.
Sitting under the table - it's so hard to wait.
Daddy slipped me a goodie right off his plate.
I raced through the house, and scattered my toys,
Ricocheted off the furniture, and made lots of noise.
Mom found her purse - the one I abused.
Daddy let loose a chuckle. Mom asked "Amused?"
I cowered down low, I must be in trouble.
Dad said, "Wasn't my boy, it must be his double!"
Mom turned off the TV, and siad, "Time for bed."
Dad said "Let's go boy," and patted my head.
I got in my spot, between Mom and Dad,
I thought 'bout my day and what fun I had.
Mama kicked out my bone from under the covers below.
Then let loose a sigh - a sigh deep and low.
She gave me a kiss, and snuggled me tight,
And whispered so softly, "my darling goodnight."

~Author Unknown

My cat needs to go on a diet.

Look at that belly! He's SO CUTE!


My cat needs to go on a diet. There. I said it. I really do not want to put him through this but I think it's time. We're kind of in denial about it.
You know how it goes....

Friend: "Hey, your cat is kind of fat since the last time I saw him."
Us: "No he's not! He's just a little stocky."
Friend: "Are you sure? I think he's fat."
Us: "Really? No he's not... Is he really?"
Friend: "Yep."

Or you could use a excuse like my lovely grandparents do about their dog: "She's not fat! She just needs a haircut!"
Right...

We saw it coming. Every time he see us he meows and runs to his bowl. It's like he's really saying, "Feed me! Feed me! I love it when you feed me. If you don't then I won't love you" and somehow his expression looks like this I swear it.

How can you say no to that?!?
Well we started to try to trick him and give him a spoonful every hour or so. Ended up being more work for us. So then we started to measure his food out for what a 15 lb cat would need. That's not really working either. So what to do next......??

LOW CALORIE CAT FOOD

Do you think it tastes bad? I feel really bad about it. It's probably worse to let him get obese and get diabetes and joint problems though.

Sigh........

He's going to hate us.

I thought I'd be nice and post a picture of him looking quite slim. It's just a trick of the camera and the way he's laying though.

It's a Beautiful Day!!!

These two love each other. Ellie found a used mouth guard (I know - so gross!) in the football field and thought it was the coolest thing ever and then Carma decided it was pretty cool too so she chased her.
See for yourself! :)

Puppy land

So I live in a place that accepts dogs. Which I guess is obvious but I have lived in a place that didn't and still had my dog (SHHH!) so I thought I'd clear that up. I love it because I see all sorts of dogs and lately there have been the CUTEST puppies! This week I saw one Husky

and TWO basset hounds!!

I kind of feel bad because I seriously followed the owners around so I could ask them if I could pet their dogs. I don't know what it is, but when I see dogs, cats, any baby animal (especially puppies) I think they're the cutest things in the world! I never look at babies and think they're the cutest thing in the world (sometimes I think their little shoes are pretty cute though). Hopefully I feel that way when I have my own kids but for now I'm going to stick with animals.

No puppy is quite as cute as this one though....


I love Ellie. You can't deny that she was a cute puppy (but if you don't think so - don't tell me haha)

Jumping Fox!

How cute is this?!?

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!!!! Keep your pets safe! A lot of dogs and cats get nervous from all of the loud fireworks on the 4th and end up in animal shelters and pounds.

More information HERE

Ugliest Dog Contest!

A Chinese Crested did NOT win the whole Ugliest Dog Contest this year!

This dog did:


He's a boxer mix. I actually think he's kind of cute!

Sadly, a 15-year-old blind Chinese Crested named Ellie won the Pedigree Category!!! I think it's funny that her name is Ellie just like my Ellie. I think she's cute too!!! Do you think my Ellie will live to be 15? That would be so cool. I'd be around 40 years old! Yikes!

Where did my hair go?!?

Every time I see this picture, I'm a bit perplexed. Where did Ellie's hair all go? She was a relatively hairy Chinese Crested when she was little. I'm guessing that she just grew and the hair spread out over the surface area of her skin making it appear like she has less hair.
I can't really complain, she's pretty easy to take care of. A bath takes 3 minutes with almost zero drying time. Just like a person. It makes it really easy to wash her so I always have a clean dog.

Ellie as a puppy with a lot more hair than she has now.


Ellie now as an adult with almost no body hair. She was taking advantage of a warm batch of clean laundry...

Sew what???

I have officially sewn my first item. It's a dog blanket. It took me a LONG time! Just to figure out how to thread the dang sewing machine took me a hour. But I did it! All for the love of dog. It didn't help that the cat thought the spinning thread on the top of the sewing machine was a new toy.
When I went to the fabric store the lady said, "So is this for a baby blanket?" I said, "No, it's for my dog."
She gave me a REALLY weird look.
Whatever.
Don't hairless dogs need blankets just as much as babies???
Anyway, Ellie is quite pleased with it. It fits nicely in her kennel and has a fleece back so it's warm and comfy. It looks better in person than it does in the picture.

I'm loving the side-swept hair.
Next sewing project will be a blanket for Ozzy because I think he's a little jealous. I'm thinking of something that's black and white so he blends in with it. Just for fun.

Whiskers and Window Sills

Ozzy LOVES sitting like this with his paws on the window sill. I always think he looks like a stuffed cat.







Aren't his whiskers beautiful?

A New Trick and My Favorite Dog Quote

This week I taught Ellie the most amazing trick. I've been wanting to teach a dog this trick since I was little but it never really worked........until now because Ellie is a GENIUS!!!

So the name of the trick is called "Arms" because we have to make the command simple and short enough so the dog doesn't get confused. So when I say, "arms" Ellie leaps off of the ground, flies through the air and lands in my arms. I don't have to do anything but hold my arms out and say "arms."

Some of you will eventually get to see this trick live and be amazed.

Oh, how I love my dog. Have I mentioned that already? She's so freaking cool.

Which brings me to this quote by John Grogan, the writer of the book "Marley and Me." I love this quote. Humans should be more like dogs.

"A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not."
— John Grogan

WHY did you get a dog like THAT???

"WHY did you get a dog like THAT??"

So, I get asked that question A LOT and I'm going to come clean right here right now.

I have always been an animal person. I have my mom to thank for that. Growing up I had pigeons, hamsters, gerbils, parakeets, fish, mules, ponies, a goat (to keep the mule company), cats, and dogs. But there was one particular animal that I absolutely LOVED.

HORSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you knew me when I was little you probably remember. I sat in class and drew horses. I talked about horses. I rode horses, etc., etc. My first career goal was to be a horse trainer or a veterinarian. That didn't pan out but that is besides the point (I also wanted to be a rockstar but that didn't pan out either).
Anyway, my mom had this big dog book that had all of the different breeds and I always looked through it and loved it. When I was about 14 years old I looked through it and found this:

CHINESE CRESTED DOG



Which, I thought looked a lot like this:



So that is when I first discovered the Chinese Crested. I thought they were the cutest and coolest dog EVER. And I still do.

I do not have any dog allergies, I didn't get her as a favor to anyone else, and I do not voluntarily shave my dog bald. I just got this particular breed of dog because I think they are awesome and resemble little horses. That is all.

Oh, and I didn't get the dog because of the movie, "How to lose a guy in 10 days." That movie came out when I was in high school. I started liking the dog when I was 14. But I do love that movie, and the dog in it is awesome and looks quite a bit like Ellie!

Ozzy

Meet Ozzy. Ozzy is my beautiful black and white "tuxedo" cat that I adopted from the Humane Society. He the SWEETEST cat I have ever known and I love him.



Lately, Ozzy spends almost all of his awake time staring out the window. It's sad. I should let him outside but I know he'll get hit by a car. Poor guy.

Resemblance

I think animal babies are cuter than human babies. Is that wrong?
Doesn't Ellie as a baby kind of look similar to the baby below her? SO FREAKIN CUTE.

Oh, for the love of dog!

Today is going to be Ellie's last day of obedience class. She will officially be an obedience graduate! I taught her a new trick the other day. She can sit and stay while I walk across the room. Then when I'm across the room, I can tell her to lay down and she'll do it! All while staying at the same time. I showed Chris and we were both beaming! I said to him, "you know, if Ellie was a human she would be in the smart kid class." Proud parents? Definitely. We are not ashamed. I LOVE my dog!

Obedience Success!!

Week 4
Week 4 turned into a success! Ellie did so good! I was really quite pleased by the end of class. Ellie has mastered the first step of "leave it", sit, down, stand, touch (kind of a focusing exercise), and come. Now we're working on stay in the sit position and she's already doing it very well. She was excellent with the instructor this time and didn't growl or bark at her! Yay! I have a good dog!!!! I KNEW I had the perfect dog. She may not look like you're average dog, or even a dog for that matter, but she's a good dog.


Now, I have to confess. None of my/Ellie's success would have happened without the best treat known to dog!!! I highly suggest this treat for training. Ellie will do almost anything to get a tiny piece!

Everlasting Fun Ball!!!!!!!

This little toy rocks!!! I just got one for Ellie because I thought she needed a new fun toy besides the Kong. The Everlasting Fun Ball is really fun! It keeps her busy for a long time. I've seen them at Petsmart and Petco.

Obedience

Now that Ellie is almost 2 years old, I finally signed her up for obedience. Where did I go wrong? Probably when I didn't enroll her as a puppy.
It really has been fun, but it's also been a little bit discouraging.
I'll give you a week by week summary of what's happened so far.

Week 1
I was so excited to take Ellie to obedience. I had visions before I went that the class would be far too basic for us and that we would just glide on through. I honestly had a dream that we won a blue ribbon for best performance in obedience! Boy, was I wrong! Ellie was so nervous that she mostly just sat on my lap and shivered. She wouldn't take a treat from the instructor, and if you know her, this was quite odd because she sure does love her treats!!! Then we had to practice sit. Now, Ellie knows how to sit (see trick post below). Did she act like she did? NO! She would not sit on the tile in the room because it was too cold. To be honest, if I was naked I probably wouldn't either. So, I was advised to bring a mat or a blanket to class so she would have somewhere to sit. Hmm... this was NOT going the way I expected it to.

Week 2
With the help of the best dog treats known to dog (REAL meat) and a blanket I was able to get Ellie to sit in class. She was so excited about the treats that she sat almost the entire time anticipating the reward (the treat). This was going better than I expected. Week 2 was a success. She even performed her cool high-ten trick and the twist.

Week 3
Ellie performed all of her tricks pretty well. She sat, laid down, and focused. However, she was about to take a turn for the worst. In the first week of class, she was nervous of the instructor. This time she was mean!!!!!! Ellie?? mean?? Yes. The instructor came over to give her a treat and she howled and barked at her like she was the animal butcher. SO embarrassing. Then the instructor pretty much left her alone the whole time but everytime she would walk by Ellie would growl at her! Near the end of class the instructor asked me if this was typical behavior of her. I said, NO!!!!! I have the perfect dog!!!!!! Don't I? I swear I do.
OK, so what does this mean? It means that I'm a little discouraged and that Ellie probably isn't as socialized as I thought.
Stay tuned for week 4. We are working on "leave it." It's a tricky one for Ellie.

Funny Friday

Bizkit, the Sleepwalking Dog @ Yahoo! Video

Sibling Rivalry

Pretty much a normal day for these two. They can be extremely entertaining. They were actually being quite mellow here.

How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?

I liked this one because it included a Chinese Crested! Believe me, Ellie can definitely jump and spin (see trick post below)!


Afghan: Light bulb? What light bulb?
Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned-out light bulb?
Border Collie: Just one. And he'll rewire the house while he's at it.
Italian Greyhound: I can't reach the stupid lamp!
Poodle: Sorry, just had my nails done.
Lab: Oh, me, me!!! Pleeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I?.
Springer: Light bulb? Light bulb? That thing I just ate was a light bulb?
Collie: No, don't change it. If it's dark, maybe no one will see me sleeping on the couch.
Chinese Crested: I can put it in, I can jump and spin !!!!
Rottweiler: Make me!
Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp!
Malamute: Let the Border Collie do it. You can feed me while he's busy.
Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls.
Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares?
Cocker Spaniel: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark.
Mastiff: Screw it yourself! I'm not afraid of the dark...
Doberman: While it's out, I'll just take a nap on the couch.
Boxer: Who needs light? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.
Pointer: I see it, there it is, there it is, right there!
Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb?
Australian Shepherd: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle...
Basset Hound: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Westie: Dogs do not change light bulbs -- people change light bulbs. I am not one of THEM so the question is, how long before I can expect my light again?

Ellie's new cousin

Today I went with Lindsay to pick up her new Labrador Retriever, Cash, from the airport. He is so cute! He is very friendly, cuddly, sweet, and pretty much every other word to describe a really good lab. I'm excited to bring Ellie around him so they can play together!

Trick or Treat?

Ellie has successfully mastered the following tricks: sit, down, high-five, the twist, and speak. We are working on stay... which is very had to do when Ozzy, the cat, cruises by. Go ahead and make fun of how I talk to her all you want, because I know you talk to your dog that way too. ;)

Coming soon

So we're seriously considering agility lessons starting sometime this Spring. Stay tuned to see how Ellie, the Chinese Crested, does!

Welcome

"The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too." - Samuel Butler