OH NO!

OK, don't get me wrong - I love my sweaters and if I get cold I'll go get a sweater and bring it to G. Then I do my best to help her get it on me. G thinks I'm so clever when it's a matter of survival. HOWEVER . . .

This Halloween stuff was silly. I put up with being a bee just to humor that crazy woman but now I'm being picked on by G's friend, Ruth. She went to visit her sister and she saw a Halloween shirt and had to get it for me. The things I do for my humans . . .

TROUBLE

I am in soooooo much trouble. Gramama made me wear a dumb bee costume and she took pictures. She sat down tonight after work to put all her pictures on the computer and then she was going to post them here on this blog. As she was checking her email I stole the little piece of plastic that was in the camera and I chewed it up real good. When G realized what I had done she was so mad she wouldn't let me sit in her lap. I think G is going to cry. It seems that she had pictures of Tyler on that plastic thingy.

Kesi the Rhodesian Ridgeback

Here's some pictures of the newest member of the Sand clan... Kesi.  She's 4 months old and weighs about 30 lbs.  Her dad weighs 120 and her mom weighs 85... so she's going to be big! She's very calm and sweet.  Allie and Oscar don't know quite what to think of her yet but so far they all get along ok.  

Isaac has always wanted a Rhodesian Ridgeback.  They're also known as an African Lion Hound because they were used to keep lions at bay.  They get their name from the strip of hair on their backs that grows in the opposite direction and resembles a ridge.  They are very strong with lots and lots of stamina, very smart, very friendly and usually only bark when they want you to know something.  

We are so happy to have her!!!  

If you'd like to learn more about Rhodesian Ridgebacks click here

pictures

Dear Mom and Dad,

OK, what did Sarah do to Gramama? She said to tell you that pictures of me are being held hostage. The ransom price is pictures of Sarah and Issac as well as pictures of you two and just to sweeten the deal? Pictures of all of you together!!

My birthday was kinda quiet. G had a "cake" for me and a pretty pink sweater and a toy. Aunt Ruth even gave me a present! She gave me a pretty blue raincoat. To tell the truth, if G hadn't said something I would have missed the whole birthday, I just don't understand G's obsession with celebrations.

Now here is the kicker. She also got me a Halloween costume. I am a bumble bee, complete with wings. I really want to get those wings and chew them up but G takes all the fun out of everything.

She is so strange. She puts one of those pee-pee pads down in my room so I'll have a place to go when she's not home. I have fun and "dig" it up every day. Well, she got this foamboard with a plastic outside to put it on with the sticky stuff called adhesive. I thought it was a great toy and chewed the heck out of it. She wasn't as pleased as I thought she should be.

Tongue-in-Cheek

Willow is a crazy little dog that will drive me totally insane AND I'll enjoy the journey getting there.

For more years than I want to admit, I have been a cat person. I still love cats but I don't have a burning need to go out and find another cat just because mine have passed away. I love dogs too but until Willow I really didn't want to own a dog. They require too much attention. Cats can and will ignore you and don't care if you leave the house to go to work, church or the mailbox. They also won't greet you as if you are their only reason for being alive but that is beside the point.

I've decided that the main difference between cats and dogs is their tongues. Cats have a sandpaper tongue that will take the skin off if you let them lick you more than once. They would NEVER be caught drooling. Dogs have a soft tongue that is wet and will leave you needing a towel. Willow has the softest tongue on earth and feels it is her right to lick my arm, neck, face, lips . . . pretty much anywhere my skin may be exposed. To make things even more strange she LOVES lotion. I am getting along in years and have to put moisturizer on my face and neck, hands, arms and legs - ok - I take a bath in lotion at least twice a day. She then feels it is imperative to lick it all off and will chase me down.

Now for the cherry on top - Willow's tongue is wetter than any other dog's tongue. I don't know why - it just is. She will chase me under the covers to give me a bath. She feels it is her duty to make me lotion-free AND sopping wet. WHY do I put up with that dog??

Would you look at this?

Just hours after posting about Willow chewing trash, she jumped in my lap with the lipstick that is laying down in the picture. The other one is one she presented on Sunday. What the heck is wrong with that dog???? This is the 4th lipstick she's killed. I am doing everything the books say to do and she's gone nuts. BTW - I put her in her crate and ignored her and didn't take a 2x4 to the monster like my first urge told me to do. What am I going to do????

Can a Dog Committ Suicide?

Hi Allie and Oscar, this is G. Can you explain this dog of yours to me??? She has a fascination with garbage. She likes to go through garbage and shred it into tiny pieces. She's also very sneaky about it because she knows I don't want her to do it. She also likes to get things that isn't trash and make it into trash. She's driving me nuts.

The reason for the question - up until know she has had an iron stomach and none of this has hurt her. This weekend I was cleaning out a cabinet that I haven't been into in a while and somehow a pan that had gotten put away still had something in it. Chocolate truffles. YUCK. It had wax paper over it and under it so I threw the furry mess in the garbage bag. I tied it up and threw it away in the garbage can that was out of the monkey's reach. I continued cleaning and didn't notice that Willow was quiet. I found her inside of the garbage bag that she had somehow gotten out of the trash can and torn open. She has been hyper and had diarrhea. Fortunately not a lot. She didn't eat much of the stuff so she's going to be ok. HOWEVER, what about next time? I really don't want to take my garbage outside all the time but I may have to do it to keep her alive.

I want to teach her not to do this but so far nothing is working. She gets lots of exercise and has lots to entertain her so she's not board. She actually does better when I'm not home and I'm home more than away from home. She's not lonely. Any ideas?

New Talent

Mom and Dad,

I think I told you before that I can't really type so I have to tell G what to put in here for me. Anyway, I learned how to use the computer tonight. Really!

G was washing dishes (which she wouldn't have to do if she let me clean them!) and had left her laptop open. I went over to smell it and I pushed buttons and it made the screen change. It was so much fun! G was so surprised to come over and find out that I knew how to 1- connect to the internet, 2- make something called "search" come up on the screen and 3- type something in to look up. Too bad that I haven't learned how to spell.

Your genius daughter,
Willow

Note from G: she came real close to spelling something - she typed ok jht. She could have found out about Oklahoma if she had just stopped soon enough.

Innocent

G says she's going to change my name to PIB (aka Pain in Bottom). It was an accident and anyway how was I supposed to know I could jump that high???

G came home and I greeted her as I always do, with joy and adulation. I have to let her know how much I love her right? Sometimes she tricks me by being gone for less that 5 minutes but I greet her with energy and vigor anyway. I know she doesn't want me to jump on her and really this is the only time I HAFTA do it so I was doing my normal jump, wiggle, squirm, repeat routine and then it happened. I jumped so high that I nipped G's nose! Can you believe that?? We were both surprised but G couldn't decide whether to be proud of me for jumping that high or to knock me into next week. Before she could decide, I quickly settled down so she wouldn't remember what I did. I think it worked, but just in case . . . I need an alibi . . .

4th

Happy Fourth of July to EVERYBODY!

Note from G

Guys, this dogs is nuts. I've worked and worked with her to do some of the basic training move and she may or may not do them. If it meets her approval, of course. The one command she almost always ignores is "come". Today I found a way to make her "come" - EVERY TIME.

I've got a cold. (See my blog) Today I have spent most of the day blowing my nose. I'm not very quiet about it. I think nasty gunk that becomes infected should be expelled as quickly as possible. After a few times I noticed that the nut comes every time I blow my nose. She wants to steal the tissue and shred it to smithereens. I keep telling her it's nasty and gross and NO she doesn't want it but she as actually stolen a couple. So, I guess the next time she escapes from me, I just need to honk my nose to get her to "come". I don't know who's crazier, me or Willow.

Reporting from NC

Mom and Dad,

First I have to tell you how I fooled Gramama. She has these really tasty shoes and when I ate the second shoe she started putting her shoes up on a shelf where I can't get to it. I only like this one kind of shoe and leave all of her other shoes alone which really puzzles G. Gotta keep her on her toes, you know? Well, last night I was able to sneak her shoes and hide them. I won't tell G how I got them or where I put them and G was very perturbed today when she was looking for her shoes so she could go to church. Instead of staying home with me like she should have, she put on another pair of shoes and went anyway. Bummer. Still it was pretty cool hiding her shoes.

Tonight when she got home, she wasn't sounding quite right. Her voice was all funny and she said her throat hurt. Poor G! I felt sorry for her so I brought out one of the shoes. Wasn't that nice of me to share? I hadn't chewed on them yet, just licked the lining a little bit. A few hours later, she was making funny noises and blowing her nose a lot and really sounded funny. It's not her voice anymore! So I went and brought her the other shoe. She's really snugly right now. She's warmer than normal so I cuddle up real close.

One last thing - you should have warned me about NC's summer thunderstorms. They are S-C-A-R-Y as all get out. (I'm a southern girl now so I use cute expression like that.) When it rains really hard it sounds like the house is going to float away, not to mention the thunder actually shakes the house. Whew.

My sibs

Hey Mom and Dad,

You have beautiful puppies even if I must say so myself.
I don't know my sibs names - wanna help me out?

From Gramama

This dog is doomed. Those shoes are my favorite shoes - EVER - so much so that I bought a second pair. So when she chewed the left shoe, I got the left one from the second pair. So tonight? SHE CHEWED UP THE RIGHT SHOE! Has she lost her flipping MIND? Next I'm gonna chew her . . . well, you know. GRRRRR

Allie and Oscar? If you receive a package one day that has air holes in it, let her out and YOU can keep her. GRRRRRRR

Frogs

Hey M&D,

Have you ever met a frog? I met one last night. It was kinda cool but it upset G. Here's what happened.

G was on her computer and suddenly she jumped up and ran into the kitchen area. Of course, I got up to find out what she was doing. She had seen movement out of the corner of her eye and realized there was a frog in the house with us. I was so excited! I've never seen a frog before although I hear them all the time. I tried to play with it while G was trying to catch it and take it outside. She likes to spoil my fun that way. So the frog kept jumping and went under a bookcase. G moved the bookcase and the frog was GONE!! We looked everywhere and it just was not there. G was not happy but I enjoyed the frog encounter.

Love, Willow

TROUBLE

Boy, did I make a boo boo. G has put up with me chewing up plastic cups, cardboard containers and so forth. I went one step too far and she is very not happy with me. She was watching a DVD and I got behind her chair and chewed the bow off of her shoe. It felt so good that I chewed the shoe too. Not only did she scold me, she won't let me lick her food container from her frozen meal. She rinsed it out so I couldn't even get anything out of the trash.

I feel really bad about making G angry and I give her all the cute looks possible to let her know I love her but she has hardened her heart and isn't buying my act. Maybe if I do it long enough . . .

Water, Water Everywhere!

G thinks I'm crazy. One day I was practicing my bark and she banished me to the bathroom - with the door SHUT! Each day we go through the same thing. I finally figured out that if I shut up she would let me out. Maybe the second time, it was really hot so she stopped up the tub and put a little water in it for me to drink. Now I'm hooked. When G goes to the bathroom for any reason, I run and get in the tub and wait for her to give me some water. Why should I use my water dispenser when I have G hopping?

On another note - I had something that G calls a tick. I don't know exactly what that is because G wouldn't let me play with it when she pulled it off of me. It sounds exciting though. G sure got excited anyway. Now she is concerned because I have a little bump where the tick was. But then she's a worrywart so - whatever -

PS - Tell Sarah and Isaac we want to see what my sibs look like now.

BARK!

Hey Mom and Dad,

I learned how to do something at the family reunion and now G is giving me a hard time about it. G says that I didn't have a real bark, just a high pitched squeal and whine. I don't know what the heck she's talking about - but - whatever.

So at the reunion we were in a room near the office on the ground floor and people would walk by day and night. They didn't make any noise but I knew they were there. There was a shadow under the door that would move when they went by. I wanted to let them know that I was there and would love to play and smell them. So I did my normal thing and they didn't notice. So I tried to get louder and this really cool noise came out. It was loud and different and surprised me a little bit. Surprised G too. She sat up in bed and asked me where the dog was. HMMPHT. So now I know how to bark for real and G says it's too loud and goes right through her eardrum. Picky woman.

PS - G thinks all my sibs are beautiful but she has a soft spot for the chocolate one and says that Alien or Runtie is NOT a good name. How about Essie for Chocolate is Essiential to my diet.
Reese? for Reeses PB Cups? Snickers? cause she's chocolaty and nutty too? I like Snickers the best, but that's just me.

Pictures

Hey Sarah!

Thanks for the emails and pictures. G told me to post these so you'd know what came through my email and what didn't. The ones listed as 0088, 0130, 0134, 0113, 1414 and 0132 didn't come through.
The pictures are kinda big files and you know old G - gotta use the stuff that costs the least. Not that I'm calling her cheap or anything. lol

4 Screaming Poops

On Thursday morning, Allie (Willow's mom) gave birth to five little puppies. Unfortunately, one didn't make it. The other four are happy, healthy and doing well. Three girls, one boy. They range in size from 3.5 to 5 ounces. The three larger ones are black and the runt is either a gray or a chocolate, time will tell.

Allie has learned a great deal about motherhood since her last pregnancy. She has learned that the screaming little "poop" that she laid on the floor is actually a puppy and it needs to be cared for, not flushed. Oscar is excited, and can't wait for them to get old enough to play with, but is not allowed anywhere near the puppies right now, says Allie. Isaac and Sarah aren't allowed too much time with them either, just enough to make sure everyone has been cared for.


It's hard to believe that five of these things fit inside of our little dog!

I have to Tattle on Myself.

Gramama says I have to tell you what I did so she doesn't have to tattle. But you know what? I just can't help myself! Why does she freak out when I do what is natural for a sweet little angel to do? Ok, maybe not so sweet. Ok, not always angelic, but I am little!

Tonight I waited until G went to sleep and snuck into the kitchen where I very carefully took the empty ice cream carton out of the trash. I then cleaned it for G. That's a good thing, right? My mistake was that I went back to bed and snuggled with G. How was I supposed to know that Death by Chocolate ice cream was all over my face . . . and paws . . . and my shirt . . . OK, I was covered in the stuff! G didn't wake up in a very good mood. HMMMPH. If she'd just give me this stuff when I wanted it and I didn't have to sneak it then it wouldn't come as a surprise.

Playing Possum

Note from Gramama:

I can't decide whether having my little monster around is good for my nerves or not. Tonight I went out to the car to get some boxes out and put Willow on her leash and took her out with me. Even a walk to the driveway is exciting for this nut. I was getting the boxes from the back of the car and Willow was running around getting as many smells in as possible. She stopped suddenly and started barking (real barks, not that high-pitched screech that goes right though your brain). She was going crazy! I looked over into the yard to see what she was having this fit about. A medium sized possum was laying on it's side - playing possum. I was trying to get it to go away by pushing it with the box and holding a barking maniac off of the possum at the same time. He would not move! Willow wanted to get it, I'm juggling boxes and the leash of a wild thing and the possum would not move. I finally got it far enough away from Willow that it came alive and took off, crashing through the bushes. Willow got her money worth out off that little walk.

One of the reasons I was surprised at the bark and the fact that there really was something to bark about is that the ONLY time she barks is when there is a ferocious attack of the waving paper. If a piece of paper falls on the floor (grocery story receipts and so forth) in front of the fridge and the fan comes on and moves the paper, this is when she barks and goes crazy. At least this time there was something besides a paper monster after her.

Secret Exposed

G found out my secret. I heard her talking to someone and after all these months she FINALLY figured out that the "cute face" and "innocent face" were cultivated to keep me out of trouble. I mean, really, how can you punish me for chewing a plastic cup into 4 gazillion pieces when I look at you like that? I may have to work harder to stay out of trouble from now on.

Cheap Entertainment

OO, OO, OO - guess what? I found a new toy!!!!! I found my Christmas stocking (purple velvet with white fur trim) and found out that if I shook it really hard and growled a lot, G would laugh at me. I found her laughter to be so exciting that I had to shake it some more. I got so dizzy that I had to stop and then G had to laugh some more because I couldn't walk straight. I thought it was so much fun that I got in G's face until she blew in my face (which makes me bark a lot) and then we started all over again. We did this for the longest time. It really doesn't take much to entertain that woman, does it?

Wilhemena

OK, I think G is making fun of me. She says she's going to tell everybody that Willow comes from Wilhemena the "Billy Goat". I can't help it if I have an addiction to trash. I LOVE to chew up cardboard, plastic (cool sounds from that), pencils, pens, and so forth. G said she was going to call me Buffy because I took a wooden spoon and chewed the ends to make a double pronged stake. HUMPH. If it is in the trash can it means it's fair game, right? I guess I can understand when G flips out when I sit next to her waiting for her to put her styrofoam cup down so I can snatch it away and have my way with it. But still . . . Hey, it's all fine though. G still thinks I'm cute and doesn't strangle me. Boy, I'd better not lose my looks. (That's why I lick off all of the lotion when G puts it on her face. Mary Kay for dogs, right?)

Just so you know . . . I've tried to strangle MYSELF twice this week. I have a blanket that I like to shred on the edges and then twist it around my neck over and over again until it makes me yelp and G comes to rescue me. She won't let me have it when she's not home. I think she's worried that I'll do the strangle thing and not have a way to be rescued. Overprotective but hey, she cares about me.

Another Adventure

Whew, what a couple of days! First on Monday night, G took my food and water away. We went to bed and slept like normal, but no food or water. Hmmmmm.

The next morning I discovered that G had gotten my bed, a blanket and my favorite toy together and put it by the door. Very suspicious. Next G took me for a ride. I so love to ride in the car. To make it even more special, G took me to the smelly place. She calls it the vet but all I know is it smells really good inside and outside. Next the adventure started. G said goodbye and that she would see me later. That's weird. Why was she leaving me at the smelly place? It was ok, that would mean I would get to play with all the lovely ladies. After playing a while the nice lady took me into another room and somehow I went to sleep without trying. When I woke up I was back in the crate they were letting me use. I wasn't feeling all that peachy and I wanted to sleep a lot but they would still play with me. They love me there.

It wasn't as much fun at night. All the pretty ladies went away and I didn't have G's legs to sleep on. So I went to sleep anyway and waited for my friends to come back and play with me. After a few more hours of fun, one of the ladies came and put my leash on me. I was going for a walk! OH GOODY!!! The surprise for me was . . . Gramama came to get me and take me home!!!

So G is telling me I've been fixed. I wasn't broken. On top of everything G says I can't go for a walk for a whole week. That is so not fair! How am I supposed to get all my smells in? RATS!

Picture Time!

G thinks I look like you, Mom. What do you think?

Lost and Found

Hi Mom and Dad!

G and I have been enjoying the warmer weather and have gone for lots of walks. Did you know that if you go to this place G calls a park, you get to make LOTS of new friends? I have seen so many kinds and sizes of dogs that my head spins just thinking about it. Why do they call it a park? When they park their car it means they stop them and get out. When you go to the park, you run and play and don't stop. Just wondering.

I like to take my toys and hide them from G. Sometimes I forget where I hid them! Every now and then I'll find a toy that I hid and I feel like I have a new toy. Last night G found one of my hiding places and found three toys I thought I had lost forever. One of them was Woodstock! I was so happy that after playing with him for a long time I took a nap with Woodstock between my paws and my snout touching. G thought I was adorable and went to get the camera but fortunately I woke up before she got back. Can you imagine how embarrassing that picture would have been? Gee Whiz!

Yesterday's adventure

This is Gramama because Willow is sleeping – she’s worn out – you will see why.

Yesterday I was watching conference through the internet (Gotta love that internet!). About half way through, Willow was being a pain. She was jumping on me, running through the house as a crazy dog. She does this every now and then but yesterday’s show was pretty intense.

After conference was over, I was preparing to go out and do a few errands before the next session. The insane dog was dancing around me and was running circles around me. I was concerned that she wasn't settling down. I knew she was getting plenty of exercise. We go on several walks each day and just the day before we had gone on a “smellfest” at PetCo, Sam’s and a really long walk. I went in my bedroom and found the problem.

The nosy dog had somehow gotten my suitcase open and had chewed through a bag that has the basic stuff I might need on a long trip. She had gotten a generic caffeine medicine called Stay Alert and chewed two of the pills. Most of the two pills were still on the floor – must not have tasted good so she spit them out – thank goodness. However she had to have gotten some of it in her because she was bouncing out of her skin. Chihuahuas are not known for being calm, sedate animals so you can imagine what Willow was like after adding caffeine.

I checked to see what I needed to do. Watch her (that was easy, do you remember the ping pong video game?) and dilute the meds. I gave her canned food and liquid and other stuff that she normally only gets as a treat along with lots of water. She was still like a wind up toy when I went to bed. I went to sleep with her wrestling toys all over my body as if I was the obstacle course for Chihuahuas.

Today, she is worn out and sleeping peacefully. I wish I could say the same.

This is Willow. I'm taking a short break from my nap.

How was I supposed to know that those cute little plastic bubbles contained wiggle worm seeds? It tasted yucky and I spit it out but I got enough of the seeds inside me that they grew and wanted to get OUT of me. I was willing to let them out but they wouldn't cooperate. I wanted to go to sleep but they were having a party inside me. YIKES!

My fun weekend

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Do you know what G did to me? She left me with someone else and WENT AWAY for 32 hours and 23 1/2 minutes! That's all right, I showed her. I had fun anyway.

My newest friends are Eliza and Jacob Green. They have family too and I loved them too. Their dad liked me a lot and their mom would have liked me but I wasn't as friendly with her as I should have been and she wasn't sure I liked her very much - but I did. They played with me and paid attention to me and I ate it up. The mom told G that I was a very energetic dog - I think I wore them all out. The secret G and I will not be telling them is this - ssssshhhh -
When we got home last night, I kept trying to get G to go to the bedroom to go to bed. Everytime she came inside from getting things out of the car, I'd bark and edge back to the bedroom. FINALLY she gave up and we went to be and I ZONKED out and even wouldn't get up when G went to the bathroom. I was exhausted!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Dear Mom,

I hope you had a Happy Birthday. G and I had a special treat and celebrated for you. We both miss you very much. G says I look more and more like you every day. I now weigh just under 6 pounds and G says I have your deer legs. Springs, too - I don't understand that one but she said that you would.

The weather has been really nice lately and we go outside a lot. I LOVE walks and car rides. Nights are a little strange because we have something called owls. G says I can't go outside by myself at night because they might think I'm a snack. She says they are huge - 2 to 3 times bigger than me. I still get a little freaked out when they make their noises. They are loud and click and whoooo and all sorts of weird noises. I run from window to window hoping to see them but G says I really don't want to ever meet one.

Our trip to Williamsburg was great. I got to have a room with two beds, a TV, my own bathroom and another area that G says was for dressing. I only had to share with Aunt Ruth and G for a little while at night which was OK since I love to sleep with G anyway. The rest of the time I had the area to myself and when they would come back from their boring little lives they would adore me properly and let me go all over the suite. I was real good and went on my potty pad the whole time. Karen was real nice too. I love being adored by one and all.

I scared G a little. While in Williamsburg, G got me some really cool rawhide chews. They were long and skinny and I had a blast chewing on either end of it. Weeeellllllll, G saw pink on both ends and figured out that I was making my back teeth come out while I was chewing. I'd been trying to get those silly things out and I thought it was great. We had a fight over the chews but G finally calmed down and let me do what I had to do.

Tell everyone I said Hi and let Isaac know we celebrated his birthday too. I like all these birthdays! I get treats!

Your loving daughter,

Willow

Note from Gramama

I complain about my little stinker, but I've got to tell you - she is my sweetheart. She gets to go to Williamsburg with me this weekend and I'm looking forward to our adventure.

Now for my complaint and mind you, I do know that I'm the one who is to blame. I made the mistake of taking a small ball of unused yarn, tying it up to be somewhat secure and gave it to Willow to chew on (top teeth are in but the bottom teeth are taking forever!) She had a blast with it and we were both pleased. I have created a monster. She feels it is her duty to destroy every yarn ball in the house. She seeks them out and I have run out of hiding places to store my yarn. I may have to designate a drawer in my dresser as Yarn City so I can continue to knit and crochet.

Gramama is tricky. She took me for a fun ride and I got TWO shots. RUDE.

We went to see my vet. I really like everyone there and enjoy visiting the whole staff but every now and then they gang up on me and give me a shot. How am I supposed to remember that I don't like the place if they keep being nice to me? Geez.

I weigh 5 lbs. and 7 ozs. and the vet thinks I'm going to be even bigger than you, Mom. Cool. hunh?

I do need to make a decision and could use your input - all of you including Sarah and Issac. If I'm not going to have babies of my own then I should get an operation before I'm 6 months old. Something about less chance of breast cancer. What do you all think? Should I have babies or not?

toothless

Gramama says she doesn't remember Mom having the problems I'm having when she was getting her dog teeth and losing those puppy teeth. I'm chewing everything I can get my mouth on and they still hurt. G has been patient with me but sometimes I go overboard and she has to let me be by myself so I can calm down.

G rubs my teeth for me sometimes and it feels good. She'd wiggle the loose teeth in front and it would hurt so good! G says the top front teeth are out and she can see the ones coming in. I must have eaten the teeth cause G can't find any tiny teeth anywhere.

A side note - G took the door off of a desk compartment and put my cat cube inside the compartment so I could be closer to her when she's at her desk. Wasn't that nice?

Note from Gramama

Dear Allie, Oscar, Sarah and Isaac,

She's not in as much trouble as she thinks but don't tell her that. A little fact that is saving her life right now is that her teeth are loose and she is teething. I know that's why she is mouthing everything (especially me, I must taste good.) She's dangerous though. Between the "insane dog" action, the mouthing everything and her love for me - she's gonna kill me. She smacked me under my chin tonight, leaving a tooth slash on my chin and knocking my teeth together in a painful smash. Ouch.

PLEASE let this phase go quickly!

Also, you may hear screams all the way in St. George tomorrow. I got a muzzle and I'm going to use two harness/leash dohickeys and cut her nails. It's bad enough I have marks from those shark teeth, the nails have GOT to go.

Gramama

PS: She has FINALLY figured out that when she pees on the puppy pad and I praise her - it's connected, duh. Now if I could just get her to do #2 on the pad, sigh. (Allie, thank you for not being as stubborn (or dense) as your daughter.)

I'm in trouble!

Dear Mom and Dad,

I goofed. It was a mistake and G says it's the only reason she didn't feed me to Brownie for a snack. Hey, I'm a puppy, for crying out loud. How was I supposed to know?

It happened like this. Sometimes when I'm playing, my brain goes into overload and I don't know how to stop. G thinks it's funny when I run up and down in a figure 8 but when I want to play with her when I'm feeling that way - she doesn't like that. But when I get this way, I just have no control over myself! I want to take her hands and arms in my mouth and play fight. I don't bite hard! G says my teeth are too sharp for me to do that but . . . but . . . but I just HAVE to! She has to put me in time out so I can calm down.

Well, last night I was in one of those moods. It was bedtime and G didn't want to take me outside to let me go nuts. (See? It was all HER fault!) She pushed me away a few times and that just made me crazier. So she went to grab me to put me in time out just as I was jumping up (with my mouth open) and as I came down and G was backing up to get out of my mouth's path . . . nmdgnrhoihkljg hrgoirheqn khgfoeprhgjk.

What? You didn't get that? My kdjgoqiepr got caught jfhioerhgn ikrjehvoperi gjqhregipohre nhgqieorhg.

OH, ALL RIGHT! I'LL TELL YOU. DANG! My tooth got caught on the end of G's nostril and sliced the end of her nose. You can't really see it. It's mostly on the inside but G says that since she has to blow her nose all the time from the permanent plague that she has had since November . . . well, let's just say she is reminded frequently that I am a pest.

So the point here is that if you don't hear from me in a week or so, it means that Brownie had a little snack and I went to his tummy. You might want to call G and remind her that she loves me a lot.

Your loving daughter,
Willow

New Strategy

to drive G crazy. This weekend I decided that ALL of my toys MUST reside on G's bed. Good thing it's a queen bed. When G tries to take some of the toys off the bed (to make room for her), I search like mad until I find it and bring it back. Evil plan, hunh?

More pictures

I have so much fun making faces and showing my butt whenever G gets out the camera. She really thinks I should sit still and pose for her. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

G made me add this next picture. I don't see the big deal but she gets all crazy when I dig and chew something to death. It feels good! So, this is a picture of the inside of the cube (and my paw) after my redecorating party.

If you look at the paw in that picture you will also see another pet peeve I have about G. WHY does she insist that I have to have my nails cut? Of course, I refuse to let her do it and she's taken me to the room inside of PetSmart where these mean people hold me down and cut them anyway. I'm proud to say it takes a minimum of two people to do it and they know I was not happy when it's over.

Here I am again!

This is one of the not so great pictures but it shows my beautiful profile.

Here I am.

G said to make sure I told you that it took about 20 pictures to get this one. She says she doesn't want a picture of my butt. I don't know why, it is cute, you know.

That Woman!

You have GOT to do something about that woman! She takes my toys away! It's not fair.

I stashed a box of q-tips in a hiding place and would go back every now and then and get one to tote around for a while then chew the ends off. If Gramama saw me she would take it away! Some nonsense about it going down my throat and hurting me. What rubbish!

Well- today she found where I was hiding my box AND SHE TOOK IT AWAY! How often am I going to find boxes of q-tips, for crying out loud?

Too Cute for Words

Gramama found this and we had to share.

A PUPPY has been born in Japan with a large, clear, love-heart-shaped pattern in his coat. The Chihuahua was born in May as one of a litter to a breeder. Shop owner Emiko Sakurada said it was the first time a puppy with the marks had been born out of a thousand she had bred. She had no plans to sell the puppy, which has been named 'Heart-kun'. The long-coated male Chihuahua puppy was born in Odate, northern Japan.








____________________________________________________________ TOO PRECIOUS NOT TO SHARE

The rules of the game should be posted at the beginning of the post. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I am a 4 1/2 pound Chihuahua with a hundred pound attitude. I know this cause Gramama tells me that when I try to "talk" to her

2. My favorite toy this week is Bear with Kitty Cat coming in a close second.

3. My favorite game is to steal used tissues and shred them into a gazillion pieces. Second favorite is to steal used yogurt cups and shred them into a million pieces. The advantage of the yogurt cups is that if I do it under the covers, when G gets in bed, she screams real loud and puts on a show for me. She's fun to watch.

4. I didn't like a bag that G got for me so I ate the zipper so it wouldn't work. This way I can get in and out of the bag (which I do like) and G can't zip me in so I can't get out.

5. I love to go for walks and smell all the wonderful smells.

6. My favorite activity is going to visit G's friends. Aunt Ruth acts like she's not fond of me but she made me a couple of outfits and Aunt Vicki and Uncle Bill have two cats for me to play with. One day I'm going to grow on them and they won't hide from me.

I only have one person I can tag - really two. So AshestoEmbers? - you are hereby tagged. You both need to learn how to contribute on this blog. You can do it! I'm a dog and G is an old lady. How hard can it be????

She isn't dead.

I finally stuck my nose into Gramamas face tonight so many times that she had to acknowledge me. I was kinda worried she might have croaked. She's been asleep since Monday night. She would get up to go to the bathroom or get something called yogurt (she won't let me have any of it so I don't know if it's any good.) Then - back to bed. I finally got her up tonight and the rude woman LEFT me! After all my work - rude. She said she went out to eat at someplace called Honey's and was only gone for an hour but still. Anyway, she played with me for an hour and now we are going back to bed. It's such a hard life for a little puppy.

Ruth is my hero.

I knew I liked G's friend, Ruth - NOW I'm sure. We went for FHE (and went to G's home teacher's house for dinner thereby doing two things at once) and Aunt Ruth had made me two fleece outfits! She had gone to buy a pattern that was on sale and saw a pattern for these fleece thingies for $1 and she had extra fleece pieces and she sat down and made me TWO. Isn't that sweet?

Now did I happen to mention why these fleece thingies are so important? NO? Well, last night it was 7 degrees at G's house. She said once you added in wind chill and so forth that it felt like
-16. Did I happen to mention that I'm not very fond of the cold weather they have here in NC? G went online last night to find the nearest warm place the we might visit and she decided that Florida was too far away - she said we could go to a hotel that let's you have pets AND has a "jacuzzi" in the room. I don't know what a jacuzzi is but if G says it's warm, then I'll believe her.

PS - G said that the weatherman is saying this whole week will be frozen. BRRRRR

My Bear

Did I tell you about Bear? G gave me several toys to play with but she gave me a special friend named Bear. He's nice and soft and cuddly and is my size. Not really my size but small enough for me to consider him a toy and not a companion - ya know? G has decided that since she has taught me to "give Gramama a kiss", which means to lick her chin then she can teach me to "give Bear a kiss". She's so funny. Bear is supposed to go in my mouth and be loved to death with my teeth. G has the funniest ideas. She thinks I'm going to go get Bear for her too. HAHAHAHA! She tells me that I can tell the difference between Bear, the ball, frog and all my other toys and will obey her! Don't ya just love the way those silly humans minds work????

G's crashing

OK, now I'm getting worried about G. She's on new meds and the one for the coughs that she doesn't want to take, makes her feel funny, hold up the walls and walk funny. PLUS it makes her wiggly. She slept well the first night but last night was up nearly all night and finally went to sleep when the medicine wore off and she slept all day! When I tried to get her up she would shove me away and finally she put me in my crate! She woke up at 11:30 and is all wiggly again. Not fun any more.

What Fun!

I found out what puppy class is. They get 5 other puppies and me in a room together and everyone wishes they had gotten a dog like me! I was the smallest but I didn't let them know it. When it was free for all time we all jumped in and tussled and played and all the humans were so amazed at how fearless I was. G was insulting, of course, and said I didn't have the sense to know that the next biggest dog was three times my size and that I should hang back for my own protection. Silly woman - what fun would that be?

As for the class itself. They learned sit (I already knew that command), stay ( I know the command, just don't care for it), down (I'm already close enough to the floor but I did it anyway. (G wouldn't stop till I did.) They talked about come but the vet said that it was too confusing for us to do it right now so when she said "Willow, Come!", I trotted right over and got all sorts of praise (and treats). Did I mention that you get treats for doing these things? Dumb humans. I'd do it for nothing but if they are going to hand out treats . . .who am I to refuse? We "socialized" with the other humans and dogs and then went on a fun walk. We went through all the vet's office rooms and there was something in every room for us to explore. Room 1 had Lucky, the hospital cat in his crate and we would go up and sniff him, he would hiss and we were supposed to back off cause that would scare us - HA! G has already got me used to cats and they can hiss all they want, I'm still gonna play. Room 1 also had an open umbrella for us to sniff. They are going to open and close it next week. Room 2 had a vacuum cleaner and a hairdryer. No biggie for me but you should have seen Georgia run. Funny. Room 3 had the vet and the exam table, vet tools and the scale to weigh on. She pretended to do an exam to get us use to the vet and so forth. The vet and G talked about my "drama queen" attitude and the vet asked G if I was the one in the room the other day when it sounded like a dog was being killed. G laughed and said, yep. This was not a funny conversation although they laughed. I pretended I didn't know either one of them. HUMMPPH. Next was the back hallway and boy, was this one fun. It was a tunnel. The vet tech was at one end of the tunnel and G at the other. They took turns putting a treat down at the other end of the tunnel so I could run to the other end and get the treat. They praised me and I thought they were nuts. But you know what? None of the other pups would go in the tunnel, much less through it. So I did good and don't know why. Oh, well - I got the treats and that's all that matters.

G and I have to figure out a special command just for us to learn, separate from what they teach us in class. This will be our graduation project. G is thinking about "dance" or "say your prayers". I think she's nuts. I guess as long as I get a treat I don't care what we do!

FUN, PetSmart Style

Gramama pulled one over on me today. She took me to one of my two favorite places, PetSmart (the other is PetCo) and I thought it was for our regular run around, sniff everything, meet new friends trip. HUMMMPPHH, Did you know they have a place in there that cuts your nails???? I should have known something was going on because there was this cute guy getting a haircut - He was really fuzzy- and all these funny looking tables. G gave me to the lady and she took me over to make friends with Fuzzy and got something from the table. THEN she started clipping my nails! Now I have worked very hard to convince G that my nails should not be touched - ever and she pulls this trick on me. How rude! It takes two of them, one to strangle me within an inch of my life and the other to cut the ends of my feet off dripping blood down the tables, running in a long path on the floor. At least that's what I make G think and all the people in the store at the time believe. Tell G that I am NOT a drama queen - whatever that is.

Once I found safety in G's arms, we went into the store and made friends with YUMA. She is a 70 lb. pitbull who is having babies soon and we were instant friends. We pulled on our leashes when the humans would try to go different ways. We kept meeting up in the store and would dance with joy each time we saw each other. Then I met Peanut and Max, two Chihuahuas (not as pretty as me, but I didn't tell them that. G's trying to teach me manners.) After all the play, a new toy and a treat we left the store and I crashed in my crate in the car and forgot to let G know how awful it is to be in there.

to the vet, to the vet, to the vet, vet, vet . . .

Today G took me on a trip. I thought we were going out for a ride and I got on my sweatshirt for warmth and my raincoat so I wouldn't get wet and happily went along. My first clue was the wonderful smells outside the building. Lots of other dogs had been there, I could tell. When we went inside, I realized something wasn't quite right. The ladies at the desk oooohhhhed and aaaahhhhed over me and held me and told me how brave I was. "Brave? hmmmmm, what am I being brave about?", I thought. G took me into a room and put me on the cold metal table and then that's when it hit me. SHE TOOK ME TO THE VET!! OH, NO! I was very nervous and very squirmy for the vet tech who was supposed to hold me while I got the exam. G kept telling her to hold me close to her chest and support my chest with her fingers between my front paws, but Emily wouldn't listen. The lady doctor (can't remember her name but she was nice - for a vet, anyway.) finally asked G to hold me and they ambushed me. They gave me a shot. I saw the needle and immediately started screaming - ask Sarah, she remembers. Everybody laughed at me and told me they hadn't even touched me. Well, EXCUSE ME! Sticking a sharp thing in my butt and then taking a sample of my poop - before it left my body, so use your imagination as to how they got that. They weighed me (4 lbs and 5 oz.) and pronounced me healthy. They could have just asked me. We got a puppy starter pack which is a small tote with lots of paper and stuff inside. G can have that - I took the treats. G signed me up for their puppy class - why I don't know - I already know how to be a puppy.

NOTE FROM G:
Due to her drama queen / diva attitude, I was given lots of hints of things to do to make it better. That whole scene making business is what she does when I cut her nails and she will not trick me again.

Gramama's post

Hey darling daughter who gave me a dog that has a permanent leak,

I assumed that Willow was named after the movie but last night as I was taking a bath and the dorky dog was trying to get in with me to play, I told her that she had left a vampire mark on my shoulder. That's when it hit me that Buffy, the Vampire Slayer's best friend was named Willow. So is she a tiny little man with lots of courage and an aptitude for getting in trouble or is she Buffy's friend?

from monster to toy

Hey GUESS WHAT?

You know the monster I told you about? It turns out it's a new toy for me! I start to pester G (she's feeling puny) and she grabs the toy and points it at me. I stay a healthy distance back and start barking at it and rushing it to see if it's going to attack. Sometimes G laughs at me and the toy as we play and every now and then the toy throws something at me that I just can not catch. The only thing that is left after it attacks me is a little water but I still am a little wary of the whole thing.

The Bottle Monster Attack

Mom and Dad! You've got to help me. That G has a new weapon she's using on me!!!! She calls it a "water bottle" but you guys know I like water and THIS I do NOT like! I've been very sad since Coco ran away and have added a few activities to bring me solace. You know how G's been sick the whole time I've known her? Well, when she's feeling really bad she gets in the bed and covers up with lots of blankets and makes a nice warm cave for me to play in. She has a box of tissues next to her and she puts them up to her nose and makes this horrible noise with it. I can't make that noise when I put my nose in a tissue so it must be some sort of special talent she has developed. The first few times she made the noise I ran as far from her as I possibly could but now I'm use to it. Anyhoo - I found out I could sneak out while she wasn't looking and go to her "used" box and snitch one and go hide and tear it into 8 gazillion pieces. What fun! (Don't ask me why but the tissues are only able to make the noise once and then get put in the used box.) The first time G found my stash of shredded tissue, she wasn't as appreciative as I thought she should be - after all, if I take them then she doesn't have to take them to the bigger box in the kitchen and then take that box out to the even bigger box at the road (another story for another time) which every now and then a really big box on wheels comes and steals the stuff in the box at the road. (Can you tell me why, I'm not allowed in the road? G has a fit when I get near it which, of course, just makes me want to do it even more.)

SO - G came home yesterday with this so called water bottle. She would act like she wasn't watching and when I would scoot out to get a tissue, she held up that thing and something came out and hit me in the face! How RUDE! Then it vanished. I couldn't even attack it to defend myself cause it just went poof and all that was left was a little bit of water on my face. After a few tries, I became very wary of the bottle thingy and when G left the room I attacked it. G came back to see what the noise was and SHE FELL DOWN LAUGHING! So now I watch very carefully before attempting my tissue raids. That bottle monster has MY respect if not my total dislike.

Hey, are you EVER gonna write me?

Love and kisses from your sweet and innocent daughter, Willow
(G's laughing as I dictate that - she's got a lot of nerve!)

Chihuahua -ese

I'm really missing Coco but I have a new hobby so I can take my mind off of it. I chew G out every now and then. She says I'm a three pound dog with a hundred pound attitude. I think I should be insulted the way she says it but it sounds good to me.

Before when G left the house to go do whatever she does when she's away from the house, Coco kept me company and was my toy / pet. Now she leaves me alone!!!! I don't like it much but as soon as I know G is gone I settle down cuz it's not really all that bad. Just can't let her know that. Now that Coco isn't here I have to let G know how unacceptable it is to leave me alone. So - when she gets back, I sit in the middle of the floor and spend about five minutes letting her know just how awful it was to be alone. I can't make her understand my words but I think she gets the idea from my tone. I tell her WHAT FOR and she is properly repentant and gives me hugs and kisses when I'm finished. That's the part I don't like. She should pick me up immediately but she says that she will not reward my inappropriate behavior! AS IF!