Very Nice of Them

Since I was about to be overdrawn on my bank account by about $1.00, Puddy and I scraped up some change around the house and took a trip to the bank today. When the lady sent me receipt, she included three little milkbone treats for Puddy! How cool! I guess it's like how when I was little and I used to go with my mom to the bank, they would send out pieces of gum. Anyway...I thought it was a nice gesture. This kind of thing has probably been going on for a long time, I just never knew because I didn't have a dog.

Anyways...My first whole day off and I'm about to go down to the pool for a couple of hours. Of course it looks like it might rain, but I don't care!

Cutest. Dog. Ever.

It's Very Reassuring, I Think.

I realized tonight that one of the best things about having Puddy here is that now I'm actually talking to another, separate, living, breathing thing instead of myself. Although, it's kinda strange that the conversations I have with Puddy and the ones I used to have with myself are basically the same. Should I be concerned with that?

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Dear Tiffanie,

We've lived together for a couple of weeks now, so I think it's time that we evaluate how this cohabitation is going, and I think it's time that you realized a couple of things about me.

• I really am having a good time. You play with me a lot, and you give me treats. I like that.
• With that being said, my name is PUDDY. Not "Pudster", "Pudmeister", "Burrito Breath", or "Puddylicious". It's Puddy. P-U-D-D-Y.
  
• I appreciate the fact that you leave the TV on for me when you disappear for long periods of time. However, I do NOT enjoy "Top Chef" as much as you do. Nor am I interested in learning anything from the History Channel. If you're gonna leave it on, at least put it on Spike or some other channel that promotes half naked babes.
• I really hate it when you're on your stupid computer. It means you have one less hand to rub me with.
• I know I'm cute, and I NEVER get tired of hearing you tell me this.
• You know when I jump up and "accidentally" get my paw stuck down the front of your shirt? Well, that's no accident, baby.
• You seem to be under the impression that you can sing. That's cute.
• I've almost forgiven you for taking me to the groomers and having me shaved. Almost.
  
• That GhostHunter show rocked my world, and scared the beejezus out of me. I'm dog enough to admit that. You'll notice that the night we watched that was the night I didn't leave the bed for the entire night.
• Speaking of the bed, please don't be offended if I don't stay the entire night curled up next to you. When we go to bed, I like to snuggle. Then when it's apparent you're asleep and won't be rubbing me anymore, I like to go get on my comfy chair in the living room. It has nothing to do with you, I just need my space. It's not you, it's me. And that's NOT a line!
  
• I hate it when you have to go to Work. I'm not sure what this "Work" thing is, but I know that it means you're going to be away for a long time. And I can also tell that you never want to go there. Why can't you just stay home? Am I not cute enough? What if I promised to stay the ENTIRE night in your bed? (okay, that was a low blow, but you've fallen for that line in the past..so sue me)
• I know what the Neosporin and Bactine look like. You'll never get near me with those things again, bitch.
  
• I forgive you for rolling over on me the other night, causing me to yelp.
• I love you and I'm very happy.
  

This Post is NOT About Puddy.

Okay, I lied. It's totally about Puddy. Today, I left Puddy out of his crate while I was at work. He was such a good boy! I closed the doors to my bedroom and the one to the office, but left the bathroom door open since he likes to lay on the rug in there.

As far as I can tell, no accidents, no chewing, no destroying! Yay Puddy!!

I'm gonna leave him out again tomorrow, so hopefully we'll have a good day!

No One Will Find This Funny Besides Me, But I Don't Give a Shit.

I discovered something new about Puddy tonight. When he wants to play and I'm not in the mood, he'll drop his toy in my lap, and when it's apparent that I'm not interested, he'll start to make this growling/whining noise that sounds exactly like the "Whoo Ohh!" parts in the beginning of Prince's "Baby I'm A Star". I have a very cool dog. :)

You Down With OCD? Yeah You Know Me!

My dog has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I just know it. Turns out that this is common for his breed. You see, Puddy had a problem licking himself. I'm not talking about everyday run of the mill embarassing dog licking, I'm talking about licking in a certain area of his body (legs especially) until all of the hair is gone and there's a big red sore there. He might have a skin allergy, but I think it's the whole OCD thing going on. I mean, he IS my dog!

I'm probably going to have to buy some of that Bitter Apple stuff to put on some areas to keep him from his obsessive compulsiveness. Has anyone out there had this problem or used this product?

Damn, I feel like I'm part of some doggy support group!

Puddy Update

For anyone who cares to know, I think that Puddy's neck is getting better. It still looks kind of bad, but I think the medicine is helping. I'll keep an eye on it.

It's been really hard actually applying the peroxide/bactine/neosporine. The first time he was fine, but now he won't let come near him with the bottle or tube! So, I had to trick him for awhile, putting the medicine on my finger and then walking around my apartment for 5 minutes so he wouldn't know what was up. Well, he's no dummy. He only fell for that once. :) Ken helped me tonight by holding him down while I put it on him. He was fine and he didn't snap or anything. However, afterwards he proceeded to rub it all off on the carpet. Oh well. It's just one big scab and there doesn't seem to be any sign of infection.

Once again, thanks to everyone out there who gave me advice on how to treat the problem. At work we had this book called "First Aid for Cats and Dogs", and when I looked to the part about cuts and abrasions, one of the headings read "MAGGOTS"...So I was pretty freaked out there for a bit. So thanks for talking me off the ledge. :)

I Am Now Officially One of YOU People!

Not only did I spend most of the day worrying about Puddy's gaping neck wound, tonight was the first time I referred to myself as Puddy's "Mom". Oh dear. And, when I was having trouble putting medicine on his neck because he was squirming all over the place, I actually said to him, "Don't make me go get your dad!" Hell, I made MYSELF uncomfortable with that one!

Really, Ken and I are going to have to double-team him tomorrow. I don't think he's going to let me go near his neck again.

If I Didn't Feel Old Enough Already

Ryan (my nephew, who is something like 24 years old) and his wife became parents today! I don't know much about the whole thing, other than they had a girl and she looks like Ryan. That makes me a really bad Great Aunt I guess.

So, not only is it brought to my attention AGAIN that I'm NOT MARRIED, but now I HAVE NO CHILDREN. Unless, of course, you count Puddy, whose day seems to consist of this:

1. Wake up
2. Potty
3. Chase tail
4. Lick wall
5. Chase tail some more
6. Take a nap
7. Wake up
8. Potty
9. Lick a different wall
10. Chase tail really fast, circling from room to room
11. Lick self
12. Lick wall again
13. Take a nap

Sounds like I have a special needs dog, eh? :)

Oh gosh, I just realized, this makes my sister a GRANDMOTHER!!

He's the Rich Little of Bichons!

I know that everyone is probably sick to death of hearing about Puddy, but just one last thing...

About five minutes ago, Puddy caught a little bit of a second wind, and started chasing his tail in a very frantic way on the couch. He got really carried away, and proceeded to fall off of the couch while still chasing his tail, resulting in him doing a very good impression of a doggie helicopter.

I laughed for about 5 minutes straight. I just hope he didn't think I was laughing at his haircut. :)

Doggie Makeover!

Before and After!!


He looks like a completely different dog, doesn't he? Unfortunately Puddy went waaay too long between groomings, and ended up a big matted fluffball. It wasn't anyone's fault, really, it's just that Bichon's need constant attention in that area, and when the money isn't there, it isn't there.

So, today, Puddy visited Barks Fifth Avenue. Ken had told me that the Pudster gets nervous when he goes out like that, so I was advised that it would be best if I held him when I took him in. I almost burst into tears when I had to hand him over to the lady. I know that sounds really stupid, but I didn't want him to think that I was just going to hand him to this stranger and then never come back, you know?


My apartment felt so empty all day without him here. He was finally ready about 5:00pm. Unfortuntately, the groomer told me that they realized that he has something called "hematoma's" on both ears. When dogs have an ear infection, or allergies, or they shake their head too much, it breaks the blood vessels in thier ears, and these pockets of blood form. She said that they had to take all of the hair off his ears, and he was shaking his head a whole bunch because it probably felt really weird.


Anyways...It doesn't appear that he's in any pain, but I'm keeping an eye on the situation. However, he's been really exhausted all afternoon. He's been sleeping pretty much the whole time. I'm pretty sure I remember Jennifer's dog acting the same way after they were groomed, so I'm not worried. It just kind of weird because usually he has all kinds of energy, and of course now I'm worried that he's all tired and doesn't feel good because of his ears.


Ken came down late tonight to visit him and to make sure he was doing okay. Puddy was very excited to see him and of course greeted him with a lot of jumping and face-licking. When he left, it was the first time that Puddy didn't try to go with him. That made me kind of happy. Maybe he finally feels at home.

A Match Made!

I know a lot of you thought that my agreeing to take Puddy was a bad idea. Well, I'm here to tell you that you were ALL WRONG!!

I totally love this little dog. And you know what? This dog totally digs me! :)

We're perfect for each other!! Let me tell you why:

• We both like to stay up late and sleep really, really, late.
• We both like to cuddle. (And when I say "cuddle", I really mean that this dog likes to cuddle. As in he likes to lay right next to me and put his little nose next to mine and wrap his paws around my arm to get close to me. Yes, the dog likes to be spooned.)
• We both like afternoon naps
• We both like to eat late at night. (Since Ken's schedule was always weird, he never ate until Ken got home at night...This has carried over since he got to my house. He usually eats his food around 10pm or 11pm.)
• We both like our space. (We like to fall asleep next to each other, but then later in the night he gets in his own chair, and I claim the bed)
• We're both supportive (One night, when I was feeling especially sad and PMS'y...and crying...The Puds jumped on my bed, crawled up to my face, and put his little paw gently on my mouth and cocked his head as if to say, "Oh Tiff...Why you cry?" Then he nudged his nose against mine and I had no choice but to feel happy.)
• I was going to make a "rubber toy" joke here, but I won't.
• We both really, really like the bedspread my Mom made me.
• We both talk and/or walk in our sleep (Well, he doesn't actually TALK, but he whines sometimes and his little legs just go, go, go! It's either a really BAD dream or a really GOOD dream!)
• There's an obvious one here, and I won't spell it out.

I just love him so much. Now, everytime I read something about someone (Michael Vick) being cruel to dogs I just get so pissed off.

He Fits Right In!

Right now, at this very second, I just saw Puddy walk up to the the wall, and start licking it.

Crazy Dog!!

OH! One more thing...

When I got home tonight, I was incredibly tired. As I walked up the stairs, my ankle even started to hurt (the ankle that I have broken TWICE). But you know what? All I could think about was that my little Cannoli-head was waiting for someone to come home to let him out of his crate, take him out, and play with him for a bit.

After I took him out, I cracked open a beer and put in a DVD of "The Office". He jumped up and sat next to me, and you know what? For the first time, I felt like he was MY dog.

I'm also showing everyone at work pics and vids of him. Does that make me an official dog owner?? :)

I tried to post a cute video of him earlier not really knowing what to do with a treat, but my computer was being weird. I hope to try and post it again soon. He's going to the groomer's on Tuesday, and even though he'll have to be shaved, I can't wait! I can't give him a bath because he's so matted up, and I just want him to be clean and comfortable. He's such a cool, lovable, little dog. He's having some digestive issues right now, but I think that's because of the change he's experienced. I'm sure he's still a little bit confused about why he's here.

But you know what? When I look at him right now, curled up next to my feet, just waiting patiently for me to get off the computer, my heart wants to explode from all the love I feel towards him. And that can't be bad.

I love my Puds.

Yummm...Biscuits!

Me and Puddy, my new dog, checking out Willie's blog. Puddy is going to go to the Doggy Salon soon so don't worry.

But Here's the Silver Lining...

So, yes. Something good has come out of all of this!

I. Heart. Puddy. Forever.

I Hate Everybody.

You know, I was fine. I was absolutely fine. There I was, living my life, just me and me alone. I used to get off to the fact that I could come and go as I pleased, get up when I wanted, go to sleep when I wanted...You know, live the single life, right?

Well, now thanks to all my friends who have FREAKING DOGS THAT ARE CUTE AS HELL, I spend grand chunks of time surfing the internet for pictures of cute pets. Yes, I think I want a dog.

I can't believe I just said that.

I already have a dog that visits me lots and sometimes spends the night (and I think he should stay with his rightful owner until said owner moves to Mars where they probably don't allow dogs), so you would think that would be enough. But you know what? What the hell am I supposed to feel when I look at pictures like this:

Damn. What's next? Kids?

Who knew?

All that money on dog toys, and all it really took was some kleenex.