uh oh...

On a good note, Mom and Dad say they can see a waist on me, and there are the beginnings of leg muscle definitions on my back legs! I'm losing weight and getting buff like my big brother Harley. They say I'm shinier than Harley too, since I'm chocolate and the light just bounces off of Harley who is yellow.

On the other hand, last night I woke up and wanted a lil snack. I wandered downstairs, and what did I see? The recycling bag that Dad was going to put away was right there in the kitchen! WooHoo! I got to take lots of things out and sniff and lick them. It was GREAT!

But then I regained my senses, and I thought "Oh no! What did I do?" I looked at the mess I made, and I just knew Mom and Dad would catch me! I really have to stop doing that. Sorry Mom and Dad!

I know what refrigerators are!

A few days ago Mom was getting something out of the refrigerator. I very casually stuck my head in and tried to sneak out a baggie with Parmesan Reggiano cheese in it. but darn! Mom saw me do it, and she told me I could not have that bag o' cheese, and she took it from me and put it back in the refrigerator! She said chunky dogs don't need cheese.....whatsup with that? but today both Mom and Dad said they are starting to see a contour on me where my waist is going to be. So, that's a good thing!

I think the last thing I sniped at my old house was probably my greatest achievement. I ate a half a pan of lasagna! Ahhh, fond memories..

Wednesday in my new home

Last night....in the dark....I could have sworn I heard something sneaking around. So I barked! My peeps said hey, hush -- but it's part of my job as their dog to warn them about anything and also to chase off Bad Things, and so I did! Dad put me outside, and I barked a little more, but then I quieted down.

Before that...ooooh, it was BATH TIME for me! I love baths! I know most dogs don't, and if I was in a group of dogs I would pretend I hate baths too, but just between us, I love a good bath! I jumped right into the tub, and got all soaped up and massaged and it felt so good I eventually just laid down. It was great! Then Mom dried me off, and when Harley was done with his bath, she dried him off too. Now both of us smell the same, and we feel silky.

I'm still not real happy about the portion size of my meals, but Mom says she thinks she can see the beginnings of my dog-waist starting to show, and - to tell the truth - I think I feel a little better! I don't think I waddle as much as I did, and besides, I want to be fit and buff just like my big brother Harley. I love Harley. Here is a picture of me and Harley sleeping on one dog-bed. (Well he was hogging most of it, but he let me snuggle with him a little bit when it was raining and we couldn't go outside to play.)

Mom has been wanting to take me for walks, but it has been raining. Tomorrow Harley will go to his dog-job at the hospital visiting patients, and Mom said she would take me for a little walk then to look at some more toys that she and Dad hope I can't chew up in 5 minutes.

Mom and Dad are happy that I am so smart. I am beginning to learn my new name, and I laid down today when Mom snapped her fingers and said "Down". It takes so little to make people happy, haha! I guess I owe it to her to be good today since she slipped in some water I slopped on the tile floor and fell on her butt first thing this morning. I was worried about her until she told me it was ok, good thing it was the fat part she fell on. :)

Day #2 of my new home...

Last night, I slept much better. I didn't have dreams that made me talk in my sleep, and I only tried to get in bed with the new Mom and Dad one time. I see that my big brother Harley doesn't sleep in their bed...so...I guess it's ok that he and I sleep on the floor, or on one of his several beds. (Besides, it's cooler on the floor anyway - don't People know that??)

Today was a lot of FUN for me! I ate breakfast, went outside and sniffed around with Harley, and then it started to rain so we both came inside and took a nap. New Mom took a bath, and I was VERY interested in the whole water in the tub thing. I think I almost got the hint across to her that I wanted to get in the tub with her, but she wouldn't let me. She said my turn would come later.

I watched her do a thing called "sweep the floors". That was very interesting to me too, and for some reason some of my hair was what was getting swept up. I also watched her "wash the dishes" and I allowed her to brush me. A lot. I have completely decided that I like brushin's, they make me feel cooler, and Mom tells me how beautiful I am afterwards. I watched her brush Harley, and he likes it, too. New Mom says both Harley and me are beautiful, and "magnificient"...whatever that is.

My only complaint here is there is NOT ENOUGH FOODIES for me. Oh sure, they give me foodies, but I want MORE&MORE&MORE. And.....this New Mom is keeping all the trash and all the foodies in the kitchen that I could sneak and eat PUT UP AND AWAY so I can't get any sneaky snacks. I wish she would stop that. She says it's for "your own good", but I disagree. She also says that after I lose some weight, she will give me a little more to maintain the weight I'm supposed to be at...whatever that is!

So...speaking of foodies....last night New Dad came home with something called an "elevated feeding station" for me, sort of like the one Harley has. New Dad said that us big dogs like to eat and drink with our heads up higher than other dogs, and that it makes our foodies and waters easier to swallow. He is also concerned about something called "bloat" and asked New Mom what time I ate dinner before he came home because he said I shouldn't run around and play with him right after I eat. He said just look at what happened to Marley in "Marley and Me". Well, I can't read, so I can't check it out, but I trust that he knows what is good for me. (All except for that "for-your-own-good" thing with reduced rations...I wish they would re-think that concept.)

New Dad also brought home new toys for me, but I totally destroyed 2 of them in about one hour. I just LOVE to CHEW, but I know there are only certain things I can chew on without getting in trouble. So I chewed those new toys to pieces!!! New Mom said "get that dog a Kong toy", but New Dad said he doesn't like Kongs. Mom is going to ask Dad tonight about that again, I think. Maybe just a good football I can pop and chew on would be nice.

I let Mom hug me today and kiss my dog head. I was reluctant to let her hug me, but she was hugging Harley, and he seemed to like it, so...I let her hug me for a few seconds. I am also letting her scratch my ears more, and she has a fascination with my feeties. She keeps touching them, and saying "Look! He lets me touch his feet!" I don't understand that AT ALL, except I did watch her try to touch Harley's feeties, and he pulled them away, even in his sleep. Silly Harley!

Ooooh! It's almost time for FOODIES! And Mom cooked some hamburger tonight and I saw her take out 2 tablespoons out and set them in seperate bowls to the side before she put other stuff in the pan...she said it was one tablespoon for me and one for Harley to have in our dinner tonight. I get a little hamburger in my foodies??? I LOVE that!!

I do believe I do like it here, I do believe I do!

Greetings!

Hello, my new official name is Snortin' Norton...but feel free to call me just Norton for short. Up until yesterday I lived with a family in another house. I had a Dog Mom, a Dog Dad, and 2 Little People to play with me. My name was Beaudreaux, and they all called me Boo, or sometimes BooBoo.

I was just hanging out with them as I usually do when Two Strangers with a Dog came over. I liked that big dog immediately! He sorta looked like me, except he was a different color. Then, the Two Strangers and the Big Dog and I went for a walk. That was really fun! I liked walking with them all, and somewhere along that walk, the Two Strangers stopped being Strangers and became my friends.

We went back to my house, and Harley (that's the Big Dog) and I had some water. My Dog Mom talked to my new people friends, and then she went into the house and brought out a sack of my food. Ooooh, I LOVE foodies! And then Harley showed me how to jump up into the back of the XTerra, which I think is the name of their truck, and so then I jumped up in there with him. Then we took a ride! I'm not quite sure I like that yet. It was ok for about 20 minutes, and then I don't know what came over me, but I started to bark. Maybe I need to work on that, as the 2 People Friends told me to hush.

Then the truck stopped, and Harley and I got out and Harley ran ahead to show me the way to his house. I liked Harley's house very much! I sniffed it all over, and explored everything. Then we went outside to play, and I explored his yard. It is very nice too, and it's a little bigger than my yard, so I can run more.

Then the Two Friendly People started to talk. I listened, and they were talking about ME! They were saying stuff like, "He is a great dog. Look at how well he and Harley get along." Then the Friendly Woman asked me if I would like to live here and have a new Dog Brother, and a new Dog Dad and a new Dog Mom.

I had to think about that for a little while. I loved my other family. But I had heard them talking a few weeks ago too, and they were talking about me. They were saying things like, "It would be mean to take Boo to the desert." "There isn't anyplace to walk a dog there." They seemed sad when they said that. They said, "We have to find a good home for him." "Maybe Brad and Arielle would take him."

Hey! I wonder if these Two Friendly People are Brad and Arielle? Oooh, I bet they are!

Later that day I got to eat my foodies and I also got something called a "Beefcake" and Harley got one too. They are delicious - but they are only one bite. Harley told me those are the kind of "snacks" he and I will get. I could eat the whole jar of them, but I only got that one. Harley says maybe there will be more later.

So...I decided. I think I will be happy here with my new big brother Harley and with my new Dog Dad and Dog Mom. And Wow! Right about the time I was deciding yes, the Dog Mom went into a little room and brought out a wading pool and put water in it for me. Ooooh, I love that! I get to get in the wading pool and walk around in it while I drink! I get to stick my face in the water as much as I want to! Dog Mom has a stack of old towels, and she wiped off my neck and feeties and face for me.

Mom and Dad both brushed me, and Mom took my collar off and scratched around on my neck. Ooooh, that felt sooo good! They only brush me as long as I let them, and when I get tired of it or bored, then they stop for a little while. I think I like brushin's!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the wonderful toys they have here for me and Harley. They have an entire laundry basket filled with great dog toys, and it's ok for me to go and pick out whatever I want to play with! There are too many stuffed animals that squeak, I think that is what Harley likes. I heard Mom tell Dad that they needed to get me some tougher toys because I like to rip open the stuffed ones to get to that thing in there that squeaks. Here is a picture of me smiling 'cause I'm so happy!

And here's another picture of me listening to Dad telling me I can play with any of the toys I want to...

Mom helped me with this "blog" thing, and now I want to take a little nap on the cool tile. She says I can still keep in touch with my previous family with this blog. I don't know how that works, but she does so she will make it so. Thank you for finding me a good home!