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.