20Dec / 2013

Dogs versus Elf on the Shelf

Mom left us home alone with and in charge of the lovely house with the decorations and presents. She had an MRI and we could not be in the room while they did the test and no one was going with her so no one could hold our leash. Dash and I felt important felt important that we were trusted to care for the home with the tree and decorations!
But we had one worry: the Elf on the Shelf was on the loose! He had quite a record for creating havoc. What could he do in Mom’s absence? We were about to find out!! And it was not good.

We could not believe our eyes! The precious tree was tipped on its side. Dash and I had no idea how to fix such a huge problem!!! But we knew exactly what to do about the Elf on the Shelf. There was just one course of action to prevent future disasters and we took it!

Now we have to explain all this to Mom when she gets home. Hopefully she is in a very, very understanding mood. Has anyone else been in such a situation? We would love advice about how to best tell Mom!!

Woofs and wags,
Bella

Permalink Leave a comment

18Nov / 2013

Looking with Awareness

November is Diabetes Awareness Month! It is a subject near and dear to my heart since I was affected by gestational diabetes and am currently affected by hypoglycemia. My brother has Type 1 Diabetes. Several other family member have diabetes. It is a disease that affects us and we want a cure. My service dog, Dash, can detect my low blood sugars.
These two doodles by Lex give a great illustration of highs and lows as experienced by one person- but they are similar to symptoms experienced by most people. The Lows…

The Highs…

Education is key. Knowing the signs and symptoms of diabetes and talking to your doctor is important!
If you would like a peek into the life of a student with diabetes who does not let the disease stand in her way and as a bonus has a DAD (diabetic alert dog), I highly recommend reading and following, A Guardian Angel For Stella.
For your health and the health of those you love!

Woofs and wags,
Bella

Permalink Leave a comment

15Nov / 2013

My Mommy

It’s Friday morning and we want to play our favorite game: “My Mommy”! It is very simple. Dash and I both play it together. We competeto see who can put our heads on Mom’s lap. Now realize that one of is a Newfoundland and the other is a Labrador – we are both big dogs! It is a very silly game. Mom took a picture from her point of view this morning.

I think it is a tie! Dash declares he was winning…

And Mom played the game for a little while more. It is our favorite game! Do you play it?

Woofs and wags,
Bella

Permalink Leave a comment

10Nov / 2013

Outsmarting Mom

I know that I have mentioned that our training is ongoing since Dash and I are service and therapy dogs. Well, this is a story about how Dash outsmarted Mom and made her giggle. Mom has been focused on “go place” with him. This means Mom puts a marker (mat or hand towel) somewhere and Dash must go and lay down on it until released. This is hard because we dogs don’t generalize well. Mom and Dash have it down at home, but class makes it hard with distractions.
Well, Saturday morning and off they went to class at Pawsibilities Unleashed. Dash did not like the mats in class and had difficulty with “go place” despite the yummy treats Mom offered him. So they had homework…
I got my turn to work and I did my requested tasks: sit, down, bang and roll over! Then it was Dash’s turn. Mom put out a hand towel for his “go place” and gave him the command. Dash walked over to it, lay down next to the hand towel, and then gently picked it up with his mouth and covered his front paws! Mom could not hold back the giggles. Silly Dash! He figured out a way to outsmart Mom on “go place”…for that day! I think we have lots more training sessions and practice coming!

Woofs and wags,
Bella

Permalink Leave a comment

06Nov / 2013

Facebook Follies

Mom and I “talk” often about my blog and about social media. Her middle school students are very involved in Facebook. Friending and defriending cause huge issues during the school days! Mom and I realize how important it is to these young humans but we are rather puzzled by it.
Really, I only expect to add friends.

Look at this face– who could resist such a cute face? And I am as sweet as I look!!!

Those teenagers are quite a mystery in their actions of precipitous friending and defriending. It would be a Facebook folly to defriend me, don’t you think?

Woofs and wags,
Bella

Permalink Leave a comment

21Oct / 2013

My Brother Did IT!

Today I have to brag about my brother, Dash the Labrador. Like me, he is a service dog. And he trains to keep his skills up to date. Recently Mom has had some new medical problems with her neck and back that limit the use of her arms. This affects her ability to do many things, including putting on shirts and jackets. Mom wants to remain independent so she began training Dash to assist her with her jacket and shirts.
Today was an awesome day! Dash took the sleeve when Mom gave the command, “take it” and he backed up and held it so she could put her arm in. After receiving treats, he took the cuff of the sleeve in his mouth and held it while Mom pulled her arm out. He got more treats. We are so proud of Dash!! He learned to do this in just two training sessions. My brother did it! He is awesome like me!!

Woofs and wags,
Bella

Permalink Leave a comment

14Oct / 2013

The Pumpkin Story!

It’s Halloween and Mom and Dad are enjoying a bit of decorating. We tried to help them with the Jack-o-Lantern for our table, but they did it all themselves. And being math teachers, it turned out very similar to this! Did you get their silly joke?

Have a happy Monday!

Woofs and wags,
Bella

Permalink 1 Comment

20Jun / 2013

The Hairy Truth

Humans and dogs alike are quite proud of their hair. Celebrities (and some regular humans) spend a large chunk of change on their lovely locks. Good grooming is very important to us dogs and is required of service dogs. Not everyone is blessed with a gorgeous black coat and cute face like me! The hairy truth is … both humans and dogs must resort to some curious methods to augment their hair and create the lovely lengthy look so desired. The secret is revealed:

And that’s the long and short of it!

Woofs and wags,
Bella

Permalink Leave a comment

Bella, My BFF

Tag Archives: Labrador

Dogs versus Elf on the Shelf

Looking with Awareness

My Mommy

Outsmarting Mom

Facebook Follies

My Brother Did IT!

The Pumpkin Story!

The Hairy Truth

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Meta