Belly Love and Other Topics

Ray is a belly whore. Betty was the original belly whore. Whenever you'd pet her, Betty would invariably roll on to her back so you can pet her stomach, and usually sooner than later. Most dogs like their bellies scratched, but these two would prefer it was all belly petting, all the time. Ray takes belly whoring to a new level as she throws herself on the floor at your feet as you're walking through the house. She's hard to resist, laying there wiggling her butt and wagging her stubby tale, but she's also a danger to our well being at times. But look how big she's getting! The first photo is from today and the other six months ago.

Ray gets to sleep on the floor in our room every night. She's becoming a pretty good watch dog and doesn't care to sleep on the bed or tear anything up, so we're happy to let her sleep outside her box. The best part--Sillybutt comes up for snuggle time before we go to sleep and when we wake up. The other Rosendogs aren't too happy about it but they also aren't content to sleep on the floor. I also started pulling a bed in for Lieu (Ray also if she wanted) a few nights a week, he gets some special treatment as our senior Rosendog. Like getting to drag our clothes around the house.

Magi's been getting her own special time. I've started painting her nails every week or so. She does really well through about three paws, then it's sometimes a struggle to finish.

I'd feel bad if I didn't mention Speck. We're trying to keep his annual summer allergy freak-out at bay with Benadryl. Luckily the weather has been much cooler than normal. 

Now I Have a Name

*I wrote this for a short story contest at work. It didn't win but since it's Ray's story I wanted to share it here as well.

Now I Have a Name

That winter was a brutal one. My fur, matted with ice and snow, provided little warmth as winter raged on.

The man that lived in the house yelled and kicked at us with his big boots. The woman threw a cup of food out into the yard every day, but I had to fight my family for any morsels we discovered in the mud or covered with snow. I hate digging through the snow to find my food, it freezes my nose.

I’ve heard my father’s father say that “these kind of people don’t deserve the loyal companionship of a dog.” There were three generations of my canine family left outside to starve.

I saw a child come and go from the house next door. She looked like she’d like to play with us, but she never came over. At night my family crawled into a hole under a shed to stay warm.

One day a man and woman came to the house. They loaded two of us into their car. I’d never been in a car and it was very scary, but I could tell these were nice people. I never saw my sister or family again, but now I live in a pack with people who love us. I have a name and no one threatens to hurt me. I sleep inside and they feed me every day. Life is good.