The Treat Cupboard

Reasons for my dog trying to jump up onto the kitchen counters can be found on the bottom shelf of this cupboard. Let the puppy spoiling begin:

I’m just a big ball of indecisiveness

It’s hard losing a pet. It feels like someone tore your heart out, stomped on it a few times, and then kicked it around the backyard just for giggles.

I feel bad for saying this, but I feel like I am already over it. We had her for 7 weeks, and she was gone so quickly and unexpectedly. Unfortunately, it’s really not all that difficult to remember what our life was like BEFORE we got her. I’m not saying I don’t miss my puppy, and I’m not saying that I haven’t grieved her loss, but… well, OK, I just want to make sure I don’t sound like an cold, heartless person because we’ve moved on.

We weren’t sure when we would be ready for another dog, but after a lot of discussions, we knew that it would be incredibly hard to potty-train a puppy in the winter time. Especially IOWA WINTER TIME. The 3+ foot drifts in my backyard are not exactly conducive to puppy training.

Plus, we needed to get past Christmas. We didn’t want to worry about another animal in the house while we were making the rounds to see our family over the holidays. We wanted the opportunity to sleep all night again, without bringing what is essentially another INFANT into the house.

All that being said, we were firm with the kids about not getting another puppy anytime soon. I had sent a letter to the breeder we bought Harley from, indicating we were taking her up on her offer to refund our money rather than giving us a “replacement puppy.” The kids knew we weren’t ready for another puppy, husband and I knew we weren’t ready for another puppy, and the decision was made. The die had been cast.

So, me being the ball of indecisiveness I almost always am, it certainly will come as no surprise when I introduce you to the newest member of our family:

Meet Bella. She is a yellow lab and was born on October 22nd. She turned 8 weeks old today.

So we went from a YORKIE to a YELLOW LAB! ! ! Are we nuts?

Bella joined our family on Sunday afternoon. My husband and one of his friends decided they were going to walk around the Bass Pro Shop in Altoona for a while on Sunday, just for something to do. (Because no matter what kind of shopping-hating man my husband is, window shopping at Bass Pro or Cabela’s is COMPLETELY different.)

He called to let me know that they had puppies for sale that day in the parking lot. A couple from Newton, Iowa had a litter of 13 puppies and decided they would try Bass Pro as a good place to try and sell them.

Enter my husband, stage right.

He did his shopping in the store, and then stopped when he was done to check out the puppies. He, of course, had to call and let me know how cute they were, and at that point, I was glad I wasn’t there. I was a little leary of the whole “buying a puppy out of the back of a truck” scenario, but hubby insisted they were papered and up to date on their shots.

We talked on the phone and we kind of half-heartedly agreed it wasn’t a good time for a new puppy in the house, but I told him the decision was ultimately up to him. With my children screaming in the background telling him to JUST BUY THE PUPPY AND BRING HER HOME — PRONTO!, he decided not to get one.

Yeah, right. He’s a terrible liar.

Miss Bella looks exactly like Marley from the movie “Marley & Me.” And while I will try and put the thought of how that movies ENDS out of my mind, I will also let you know that we are fully aware we have just brought an animal into out home that is SO not a lap dog. At 8 weeks old, she is probably already topping the scales at 12-13 pounds, and will probably end up being around 70-80 pounds full grown.

In the meantime, c’mon. Did you think anyone would be able to pass up that sweet face and those eyes?

On an unrelated topic, is anyone else besides me totally obsessed with the show “Sing Off” this week on NBC? Our whole family is mesmerized by this show– so much fun to watch!

On another unrelated topic, I am on my 3rd pair of shoes this week that are too loose on my left foot and too tight on my right foot. What’s wrong with me? Is it aftermath of “The Boot Incident”?

Big & Little, Short & Small

Our dog, Izzie, has this fondness of following me wherever I go. If I leave a room, she is right behind me. It amazes what incredible loyalty a dog can have to someone. My husband jokes about it, because this dog seriously has this thing for me. At night, she sleeps in our bed and has to be underneath the covers, right up against my legs. She always has to be touching me when she sleeps. If I move, she moves.

When I am in my office at home, she stays by my side. This is why I decided to move her very comfy dog bed to a spot right underneath my desk. That way she can still be by me, but not have to lay on the floor.

Unfortunately, our new puppy Harley? Not only does she also like to follow me around the house, but she also has quite the fondness for the big comfy dog bed. She crawls into it, yawns, stretches, and settles down for a nap while I go about my Facebooking Twittering blogging work in my office.

Izzie does not like this. Not one bit. She will go up to Harley, stick her nose under her belly, and try to boot her off the bed. It is after all, HER BED.

The other night when we were at Wal-Mart picking up a few things, I thought it would be a good idea to pick up another doggy bed for Harley, a smaller one for my 2 pound cutie pie. I picked out a cute reversible one, one that was suitable to warm or cool temps and of course, much smaller to keep her cozy.

So what’s the problem?

Well, I’ll let you decide for yourself:

Harley deciding she still likes the “big girl bed”

Izzie deciding she’d rather suck it up and take the “baby bed” rather than lay on the floor.