Although it's not officially summer yet, we had a heat wave here in Portland. That made me pretty happy for two reasons.
(1) Sun puddles in every room of the house, perfect for napping:
(2) A trip to the Oregon Coast where I got to play keep-away with Dad:
The only way the weekend would have been better is if we had seen Obama. He was here in Portland today and drew a record crowd....65,000 humans! Woof!!
xoxo - Bella
Dear Mom:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
This Mother's Day bouquet,
Was too tempting not to chew.
(Sorry)
xoxo - Bella
xoxo - Bella
Did Andy Warhol ever paint boxers? I'm not sure whether he did, but he did say that everyone has their 15 minutes of fame--including boxers.
On Thursday morning, my Mom fired up the computer and everything seemed pretty normal until she started shrieking and pointing at the screen. I thought she was having a weird convulsion. Instead, there was a picture of my butt...on The New York Times website.
My first thought: Holy crap!!
My second thought: Thank God I work out!
The article was written New York Times columnist Marci Alboher who writes a cool blog called "Shifting Careers." Marci has an adorable little French Bulldog named Sinatra and she's been writing about what it's like to work with a dog in the office. She interviewed my Mom on the topic and voila! I was famous!
Of course, fame is fleeting....and the puparazzi has move on to bigger and better things. Miley Cyrus. The Reverend Wright. Paula Abdul. Oh well, it was a nice ride and now I can go back to sleep.
xoxo - Bella
Some of you will remember the portrait that my blogging buddy Cubby did for me a few months ago. Cubby is very talented and will take your pet photos and turn them into Clip-Art. But, not everyone knows that a portion of all proceeds from "Cubby Art" go back to Legacy Boxer Rescue in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area of Texas. Cubby and his Moms are just a few of the dedicated volunteers that help save boxers in need. Unfortunately, 2008 is already turning out to be a very rough year for boxers in Texas. Several are injured or ill and are in dire need of medical attention, and although Legacy has brought in $55,522 through adoptions, fundraising
events and generous donations, they've spent $61,152 in that same time period on things such as veterinarian care, medications, food
and other basic needs. Currently, there are 12 boxer in need of urgent care, and Legacy Boxer Rescue is trying to raise $6,000 to help them. They've already received nearly $4,500, and just have another $1,500 to go....so please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Every little bit helps!!
xoxo - Bella
.....this blog is eclectic!
xoxo - Bella
Check out the "Which Celebrity is Your Pet?" quiz over at Dogster:
Turns out, I'm most like Madonna! I'm not sure I agree with all the descriptions, but I highlighted my favorite parts:
"Come on, let's just face it: We are living in a material world, and Bella is a material girl. So go ahead and thank your lucky stars—Bella is the one and only Madonna! Always desperately seeking attention, Bella is multi-talented and savvy, not afraid to get her paws dirty and experiment with new methods of getting into the groove in order to reach her peeps. She commands respect everywhere she goes, a sophisticated traveler who insists upon the best—and more often than not, she gets what she wants. Appearance is everything for your true-blue diva and while her look may change as often as the Pellegrino in her water bowl does, her commitment to exercise is unwavering. Bella's in tip-top shape, which makes her age in pet years a non-issue. Despite the hard fur and the no-nonsense approach, she's a softy when it comes to her devoted owner. It's fair to say that Bella is, yes, crazy for you."
Now, I just wish that I had Madonna's paycheck, too!!
xoxo - Bella
It seems appropriate that it’s Earth Day today, because
everything here in
I’m sure I could be doing a whole lot more, though. And I will definitely try. Now, go hug a tree!
xoxo - Bella
One of my favorite places is the vet's office--even when they give me a booster shot in the butt. I've discovered that wiggling my nub just a little bit makes everybody swoon, from the ladies at the front desk to the veterinarian technicians and even Dr. Johnson himself. As a result, I get lots and lots of cookies.
However, yesterday's visit was a letdown. They made me get up onto the scale which showed 60 pounds. Heavens! How did that happen? Dr. Johnson proclaimed me "at the upper end of the range" and that Mom should make sure that I didn't gain any more weight. Since then, the cookie supply has been in serious decline.
I don't really understand why 60 pounds is such a big deal so I did some research:
I better go call NASA. Maybe they'll take me on their next space voyage to the moon. Do you think they sell snackies up there? If not, maybe I'll check to see if Aire Ruby will take reservations.
xoxo - Bella
My friends, I have been to doggie heaven and it is good. There's plenty of sunshine, a big orange bridge, beautiful beaches, amazing parks and plenty of family and friends who will spoil you rotten.
Unfortunately, doggie heaven (aka San Francisco) is rather far away, but at least I got to travel in first-class accommodations:
(Not to brag or anything, but I am an excellent traveling companion. In fact, my Mom was complaining because she says that Dad needs more potty breaks than I do!)
After 13 hours on the road (including a lunchtime stop at a cool little dog park in Medford, Oregon), we arrived at Grandma Laura and Grandpa Barry's house which is right next to Golden Gate Park. The next morning, Mom and I went for a two hour run through the park down to Ocean Beach where I got to run off-leash for a few minutes while the park ranger wasn't looking. Mom says it's often very foggy there, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky all weekend. She might be exaggerating because she's afraid I'll expect to go to San Francisco every weekend.
On Saturday, we went to Chrissy Field which is one of my Mom's favorite places in the whole wide world (something about her young, single days....hmmmm). Anyway, now it's my favorite place, too. I got to run for hours and hours, until I just couldn't run anymore.
By the time we got back to Grandma & Grandpa's house, I was so tired that I couldn't even make it up the stairs before falling asleep.
On my last day I got to go on a nice long walk with my Aunt Hilary. I also got to meet my cousins Lena and Josie for the first time. I liked them right away, but they were a little scared of me. Naturally, I won them over with my canine charm and now we are thick as thieves.
Well, that was my vacation in a nutshell. I'm still pretty jet-lagged (or should I say, Subaru-lagged?) so I'm going to take a nap now.
xoxo - Bella
Oh my dog, I am sooooo excited. I'm taking my first big road trip tomorrow. We're driving all the way from Portland down to San Francisco, woo hoo! Mom says that it's a very long drive and that we have to get up very early in the morning, so today I'm spending all day long at doggie daycare so that I'm good and tired and will sleep most of the way down.
Man, I'm so excited. My Dad went onto the Google and printed out maps of dog parks along the way, and my Mom is busy making turkey-and-cheese sandwiches which are my F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E, thank you very much. Best of all, when we get to San Francisco we'll be staying with Grandma Laura and Grandpa Barry. They live right across the street from Golden Gate Park and I'll get to go running with Mom every morning. I'll also get to meet my cousins. They're not really used to dogs, so I'm going to be on my best behavior---although I really can't promise that I won't lick them. That's just who I am.
Anyway, I'll report back next week.
xoxo - Bella
I have a confession to make. I don't really care for Oprah. I know, I know. That's sacrilege for many people. But there's just something about her that drives me 'round the bend. Maybe it's for unleashing that buffoon Dr. Phil onto the world. Maybe it's the weird facial expressions. I don't know. I guess it's like that "Seinfeld" episode, where Kramer goes into convulsions every time he hears Mary Hart's voice on television. For my Mom, it's Rachael Ray that drives her bonkers. She calls her "Muppet Mouth," which I think was originally made up by Anthony Bourdain. My Mom calls him a bad-ass, which I think she thinks is a compliment.
Anyway, back to the subject. Despite my feelings about Oprah, she does a lot of good things. She's also a dog lover. If you have a chance, watch her television show today. She's going to expose the cruel realities of unethical puppy mills. I think you'll probably need a few hankies. And if you can't catch the show, you can sign this pledge from the Humane Society to stop puppy mills by doing the following:
(1) Choosing not to buy your next pet from a pet store or an Internet site; and
(2) Refusing to buy supplies from any pet store or Internet site that sells puppies.
Sign the pledge!
xoxo - Bella
Hey Everybody,
I'm very sad to say this, but this is going to be my last blog post for quite some time. My video (the one of me howling on Mom and Dad's bed) has been such a hit on YouTube that I got a call from a Hollywood casting agent. Mom is still trying to hammer out the details, but we leave for L.A. next week to start filming a pilot for a television show called "I am Bella." As you can imagine, things are crazy around here. My Mom, especially, is thrilled because it's been her lifelong dream to become a stage mother. Hopefully, she'll keep it together and not become like Dina Lohan or Lynne Spears (because we all know how well their daughters turned out). I'm excited because my contract stipulates that I can have all the snackies that I want as long as I exercise daily and don't gain any weight (because we all know that the camera packs on 10 pounds). Well, OK, I have to go and finish packing. Mom bought me some gorgeous JImmy Chews and a brand new Chewy Vuitton suitcase. After all, you have to flaunt the bling in order to earn the bling.
xoxo - Bella
Oh, by the way, A*P*R*I*L F*O*O*L*S D*A*Y!
I'm not really going to Hollywood (although Mom does dream about becoming a stage mom)!
And, a big SHOUT OUT to my Dad. It's his birthday today. I love you, Dad!
Look what my Mom caught on videotape. I tried to convince her that the tape was a fake, but she wasn't buying it. She says that if I insist on sticking my face right into the camera, I should at least wear a ski mask or big sunglasses.
xoxo,
Bella
Hey Everybody, Bella's Mom here. We decided to set up this "sting operation" to see what Bella was up to while we went to the gym in the morning. If you can believe it, this is the edited version! Bella howled pitifully for 30 minutes before deciding to shred the bed pillows (which, unfortunately, was not caught on tape because the camera was full). Needless to say, some of her privileges have been revoked for awhile!
I'm back! I haven't blogged in a bit because Mom & Dad were in Mexico for a week while I vacationed down in Dallas, Oregon, which is where I was born. As always, it was tons of fun because I got to play with lots and lots of boxers, including my mom Tori and some of my canine cousins.
If you remember, last year my parents came back from Mexico with this hideous ceramic chicken:
As you can tell from my expression, I wasn't thrilled. I still don't like it very much because it sits on a shelf in the dining room and gives me the evil eye.
Well, you'd think that they would have brought back something practical this time. Nope. This time they went and bought a wooden owl (or "lechuza" in Espanol). 
They gave me some big, long story about driving out to a dusty little pueblo outside of Oaxaca, Mexico, to search for a famous artist who hand-carves these wooden figurines called "alibrijes." Then, he paints them using paints derived from nature--bugs, grasses, flowers, etc. Last, he decorates them with intricate Zapotec symbols. To make things worse, when Mom & Dad got back to the hotel that night they saw a real "lechuza" flying overhead. Now they think that this thing has some magical powers and it's sitting smack dab in the middle of the living room!
If you ask me, it's still a bird. An ugly bird. A bird that you can't eat or chew on.
Somebody, please give my parents some help in the souvenir department!!
xoxo - Bella
