Bella's Boxer Shorts

What I Did This Summer

First, an apology...I've been a bad blogging boxer this summer. It's not that I'm lazy (well, maybe a tad), but I've been working on a TOP SECRET project that has kept me busy for the past few months.

Okay, okay...I'm bad at secrets. I'm writing a book! And, I've been interviewing some really cool people and their dogs. Over the next few months I'll introduce some of them and tell you more about my little project.

In my spare time, I've been enjoying Oregon's glorious summer weather with my two-legged companions. Here I am, after a long hike to the top of Humbug Mountain (look at that huge backpack they made we wear! Only kidding):

Here I am cooling off my paws on one of the 100+ days that we had in July:

This is me, watching over Mom's precious pumpkin plant (which I later destroyed):

And here I am, contemplating the September rain and the fact that summer is almost over:

xoxo - Bella

Nothing Beats a Warm-Blooded Boxer!

Happy Easter, Everyone!

I'm pretty excited because my Mom came back from Ecuador a few days ago. She was REALLY happy to see me (and Dad, too). She said that the animals in the Galapagos Islands were really amazing, but none of them were as soft and cuddly as I am. I guess it's not as much fun to snuggle with a tortoise or a marine iguana as it is with a warm-blooded boxer. Take a look at these pictures, and you'll see why:

In the meantime, Dad held down the fort and diligently gave me my medicine. Did I tell you that I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism?! Well, it turns out that I have a sluggish thyroid, which might explain why I was sleeping 23 hours a day and was starting to lose some of my furs. Seriously, I had little bald patches on my butt! I shudder to think that I might have turned into that ugly little marine iguana.

Anyway, now that I'm taking a little purple pill twice a day I've got tons of energy and my hair's growing back. That's good, because I need to be able to strut my stuff at the Oregon Humane Society's Doggie Dash on May 9th. This is a fundraiser to help OHS meet its goal of finding homes for 10,000 abandoned and abused animals in 2009. If you're in Portland and are participating, let me know. It would be fun to meet nose-to-nose.

xoxo - Bella

Sleepy Sunday

xoxo - Bella

P.S.: Check out my friend Ruby, who also spent her Sunday under the covers!!

Sunday Social

I can't believe it, but the sun is actually shining in Portland...in January. Hooray! On the other hand it's cold enough outside to make my little nub shiver. Fortunately, my friends Doug and Meredith at Doggy Business just opened their own dog training and lodging center right down the street and today they hosted one of their popular "Sunday Socials." I got to run around their facility for a full hour, meeting all sorts of new dogs including a friendly Chow named Harry Potter.

Of course, there was also my nemesis Ike:

Ike's actually a nice guy, he's a Bull Terrier. He's a little "stalkerish" and at one point I had to tell him to back off, but he got the message and I think we're okay now.

I also have a full tummy, because I've figured out that if I park myself right in front of people and flash them my best Miss America smile, they'll give me treats. I really like these Sunday Socials!!

xoxo - Bella

Asleep On The Job

Christmas is over. My birthday has passed. The new year is not so new anymore. To make matters worse, it was a cold and rainy Monday morning so getting up to go to work was a real drag. I had to leave my warm and cozy crate and go into the office where my parents tried to give me a new job assignment: IT Manager. Um, hello. My official title is Director of Goodwill (D.O.G.), and fiddling with computer cables is definitely NOT part of my job description. I'm a diva, not a computer nerd...remember?

In response, I did what any good government employee would do....I feigned incompetence and I'm happy to report that I'm back to my previous job responsibilities (i.e., playing, napping, looking cute).

xoxo - Bella

Happy Summer!

Summer has arrived in Portland and, to quote my dear friend Ruby, W00t!! (My Mom made me look up the word W00t in the Urban Dictionary before she let me use it in my blog. Censorship is a drag.)

Anyway, the best part of summer is getting to eat hamburgers and ice cream!!

Okay, I'm not really eating hamburgers and ice cream. But my cousins Brandon and Taylor in New York sent me a summer care package with squeaky toys in fun shapes. Maybe next time they can send some real hamburgers? Pretty please?!

xoxo - Bella

Ode to Norm

This video is bittersweet. Norm (aka Norman or the Brown Hound) is moving to the East Coast with his parents in a few weeks. Norm and I have been together since puppyhood. He welcomed me home on my first day in Portland and we've been best buddies ever since. Norm taught me that it was OK to get my paws wet on the beach, and it was Norm that swam out to get my ball when I was too afraid to go any further.

Norm, to quote the infinite wisdom of Bette Midler, this song is for you:

"Did you ever know that you're my hero, Norm,

and everything I would like to be?

I can fly higher than an eagle

'Cause you are the wind beneath my wings."

Sorry, I have to go now because Mom is laughing so hard that tears are coming out of her eyes and Dad is making fake gagging sounds. They just don't understand true love.

xoxo - Bella

Take Your Dog to Work Day!

Hey everybody, Friday is official Take Your Dog to Work Day...so when your humans are getting ready in the morning, don't forget to beg, bark, whine and drool until they agree to take you along!

Unfortunately, it won't be a very special day for me since Mom and Dad make me work in their office all day, every day. They make me file their paperwork, alphabetize their books, make their coffee and take out their dry cleaning. (Bella's Mom here. Don't believe a word that poor Cinderella says. She spends half her day at doggie daycare and the other half drooling on her pillow.)

NOT TRUE! Here's proof that I work hard for my money:

xoxo - Bella

Scoop It Up or Pay

Watch out everybody, Mom's got it in for Portland's poop-and-run crowd. I swear to dog that I caught her the other morning trying to turn on the sprinkler system in time to soak the cocker spaniel who was going potty on top of her newly planted hydrangeas. She says she wasn't aiming for the dog but rather his highly annoying owner. Dad thinks that hiding out in the basement with binoculars and waiting to turn on the sprinkler system is a little C-R-A-Z-Y. But she's not to be deterred. To validate her craziness, there was an article on the topic in today's New York Times!

Apparently, you can identify someone who isn't going to pick up after his or her dog by the following:

• An irritated expression
• A hurried pace
• Distracted by a cellphone
• The lack of plastic bags
• Oblivious to the dog's whereabouts (the dog being offleash, of course)

So for God's sake, and the sake of Mom's sanity, please pick up after your pooch. I really don't want to have to visit her at the funny farm.

xoxo - Bella

Calendar Girl

It's Trivia Time!!

Question One: Who sings the 1960 song "Calendar Girl"?

Question Two: Who is Miss June in the 2008 Puppy Calendar by Lang?

Need some hints? Well, the first rhymes with "Steel Moussaka" and the second is a blogging boxer from Portland, Oregon. Maybe a picture will help:

Have you guessed? The first is Neil Sedaka and the second is.....YOURS TRULY! At least I got one of the sunny summer months instead of something rainy and dreary like January or February. My Mom likes the picture because I was only a few months old and hadn't grown into my ears or my feet yet. Back then I was still able to stick my head through the slats on the front porch. I wanted to recreate the scene, but Dad said that we would need WD-40 to get my big pumpkin head out again. All I can say to that is that it takes a pumpkin head to know a pumpkin head.

Happy June! xoxo - Bella