A Quiet Saturday at Home

Today was a quiet day. I had some new things happen, but nothing like yesterday.
In the bottom of my toy basket I found a felted ball with a bell in the middle that I had never seen before. Something about the bell made the ball vibrate oddly and when I picked it up it felt very funny. I barked and howled at it, and mom said I was being silly and ignored me. I figured it couldn't be dangerous if she was ignoring me, so I kept batting at it with my paw and then finally picked it up and started tossing it around. I LOVE the bell ball now! It was my favorite toy all morning!

Every night when I am in bed mom picks up my toys. Every morning when I am done with breakfast and my morning potty walk, I spread them around the room where they should be. Someday I think I will win. Mom says I never will. She says someday I might even put them away myself. We'll see about that. I also liked the 2-liter bottle she left on the floor. Great fun to swat at and stomp on, but not much fun to chew.

At around 11 mom said that she and dad were going to go out. Without ME. She put me in my upstairs crate, just like it was bedtime, and I cried and cried and cried while she showered and got into clothes that she said did not have chicken poop, dog spit or kibble on them. I want to know: what's the fun in clothes that do not smell like me? I mean, I understand not wanting to smell like chicken poop. But why not kibble and dog spit?

Anyway, I let her know I was not pleased. She and dad left me here all by myself, mostly. I was heartbroken, or at least I made sure mom thought I was. When they got back, I heard mom ask Girl how I had been. Girl totally ratted me out and said that I had been snoring away in my crate the whole time, and had not made a peep from the minute mom was out the door. Someday I will get Girl back for not helping to perpetuate the image of me as the sad, lonely baby. I haven't decided how yet. But I will get her.

The COOL thing about mom and dad going out is that they BROUGHT ME TOYS! Daddy picked out the BEST thing EVER - it's a ball with a very amazing squeaker in it!! Balls are my favorite things, but I LOVE the squeaker ball! I played a lot with Girl with the new ball.

I was so tired from playing that I took a really good nap. When I got up from my nap mom said it was time for me to have my nails trimmed. She decided that her fifteen year old Dremel is too old and loud for my sensitive self, so she used clippers instead; the small ones she uses on the cat. I was pretty good, more or less. I did let her do all my toes, but with some help from dad and my treats.  I stood on the table and was only a little wiggly. Then she brushed me all over. I don't see why this is necessary, but I let them do it. First, it made them happy, and second, I got treats!

After my 'grooming', as mom called it, she cut the buffalo's toes off while daddy played with me and my squeaker ball.

While we were playing I ran from the office toward daddy. He underestimated my speed (he's old, I think, and I am very young and very, very fast) and I ran right into his hand, teeth first. He made a funny face and grabbed his hand, but he didn't make any noise. I just kept right on with my ball. Mom grabbed tissues and went to dad and found a couple of cuts on his finger. She cleaned it up and put a band-aid on him and we went back to playing with the squeaker ball. THAT was when mom saw that something was a little different in my world...

I am growing up very fast, and this is how I know. What mom discovered is that I had lost FOUR baby teeth. FOUR, all at once! Mom says I look like a first-grader now, with all four front teeth missing; two from the bottom and two from the top.

I'm not sure how I feel about growing up. I like being young and cute and innocent. What if I grow up and mom expects me to actually obey?!

For now I will nap in my crate while mom and dad watch a DVD and the cat lurks nearby. He's curious about who I am now. And I will think about my teeth, growing up, and the newness of my life here. Everything is new, but I am still me!