Two dogs

 

 

Two dogs, two “first” babies, two companions, two friends.

 

Snow day!

Today we had a dusting of snow - maybe 1-2" - and therefore it's an official snow day here in the Northwest! We got Alex all bundled up in his snow pants and snow jacket, hat and boots and headed outside for a little old fashioned fun.

I don't know what it is about my husband... he always wants his dog to pull him (or Alex) when it snows. In the past, this has been Lance on skis with his dog pulling him in the neighborhood. Now Alex is finally big enough for me to even think about this! So, Alex got his first dog-pulled sled ride by "Rock" (the dog) which I'm sure will be the first of many. I swear Lance should've been a sled dog racer ... hmmmm.... maybe a new career???

To those of you living in the Northwest - squint your eyes for the picture below - there is sun! Lots of it! We don't get to see this very often!

Lance rigged up this whole system where Rock pulls the sled and he holds the leash on Rock to make sure he doesn't pull too hard or run somewhere he shouldn't. At first Rock was pretty excited and Lance had to help him learn how to pull correctly, but then we were on our way. Up and down the neighborhood streets. All Alex had to say was...

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Grandma was even visiting and when Alex fell down in the snow she showed him how to brush it off his hands.

Alex did not want to come in - at all! We had to pull him in kicking and screaming every time we came in from outside. We adults would get cold, but when I took of his snow suit - I think he was actually hot! It did a great job of insulating him. We went outside twice before lunch, ate a big lunch, passed out for 2 hours, and wanted to go outside again!

balloons!

How much fun one little helium balloon can be! Bella loved playing with Alex and the balloon and it finally ended up popped. But those 15 minutes were sure so much fun and laughter.

Bella is 5 years old!

Our little Bella is 5 years old! It seem like just yesterday (cliche', I know!) that we brought her home and started our adventures together. We found her in the paper from a couple who wanted a cute puppy and bought her at a puppy store (meaning she was from a puppy mill). They lived in a condo and worked full time and were going to night classes.

Not working out so well.

But, it was destiny! We brought her home and slowly and patiently (OK, not always perfectly patiently) worked on some of the bad things she'd learned in her short 7 months on this earth. We worked on eating and not running and hiding, submissive peeing, and being secure in her puppy-hood.

We took puppy classes, obeidence classes, agility classes. We ran on the trails and played on the beach. We went to the Oregon Coast and played on those beaches.

We ride in cars and take trips to Petco. She loves sqeeky, rubbery toys and also stuffed animal type toys. We had struggles with her getting up at night (is it me or is it just a coincedence about sleeping?) and where she slept. We worked through the clipping nails and now she trusts me with that so we don't have to pay $8/clip. We bought sweaters and parkas. I probably took 1000 pictures of my little girl. (alas, our old computer's harddrive crashed and I only have some of the photos back then from other sources).

(Back up your photos! - lesson learned!)

We dealt with a new fluffy puppy named Rock (look of disgust in her eyes is funny!).

But, they soon became friends...

But, most of all - we just snuggle and love.

We love you Bella! Happy Birthday!