We had a merry, poopy Christmas

Ellie got Chuck-it balls in her stocking, she LOVES these!

Finally back to the digital world after a few days off, and I must say, it was very nice not checking e-mails, tweets, facebook, etc. for a little bit!

Since we were going to be gone from the house from 8am until 10:30pm, Ellie got to tote along for all of the Christmas festivities.

1. First stop was my mom's where Ellie was bullied by a Rat Terrier half her size for most of the morning. He is very territorial and not a fan of new friends so he followed her around all morning, growling, while Ellie was just trying to avoid him and find a place that she could hang out without getting bullied.
The back yard was usually the best bet. Of course, while I was going out to pick up after Ellie, I stepped in one of the other dog's poop!


2. Next stop was Chris's parents where Ellie got to play with her good friend Fonzie, the 100 pound Golden Retriever. We put them in the back yard most of the afternoon while everyone else was opening presents.
When I finally let Ellie back inside, I noticed that the sides of her neck were crusty. I assumed that it was drool from playing with Fonzie until someone asked if it was poop. A quick sniff of my hands confirmed and Ellie had to get a bath!


3. Last stop was my dad's. Luckily, we avoided any more poop here but had a fun time with the whole family: me and my two sisters, and five step sisters - that's 8 girls all together which only happens at Christmas time!

We had a very long day but it was full of family and fun. Ellie's favorite part? Balls of course!

Christmas Photos

We were lucky and got some pictures taken of us and our pups at work for free! This is my favorite because Ellie looks so angelic (look at those huge eyes!)

"Please, can I have the treat?"

Secret Santa Present

We did a Secret Santa gift exchange among the pets/pet owners at work and Ellie received her present today! We walked in this morning to find it sitting on my desk, no idea who it's from!

I set the gift down on the floor and there was something good inside because Ellie was giving it a good sniff-over. She even proceeded to open it all by herself!

We got some awesome gifts! A hard bone, a squeaky ball (that will have to wait until we get home) and lots of cookies!

Ellie is already going to town on the bone! Thanks Secret Santa!

Ellie's 12 Days of Christmas

Ellie's version of the 12 days of Christmas including many of her favorite things and some memories of the past year :)


On the 12th day of Christmas, my mommy gave to me

12 puppaccinos,

11 cornbread muffins,

10 strips of bacon,

9 sticks of butter,

8 bushes for marking,

7 miles of hiking,

6 rawhide chews,

5 teennnniiissss baaaaaaalls!

4 squeaky ducks,

3 milk bones,

2 feeding bowls,

And a shopping spree at PetSafe!

Merry Christmas and may all your wishes come true!

The Mysterious Rawhide Chew

It's Monday. Ellie and I are back in the office. She's had a pretty quiet morning save for the very welcomed privilege of a dog walker who is new to the office. Ellie and I left at lunch to meet my dad, then we come back.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

I give her a rubber toy filled with a milk bone in the hopes that it will busy Ellie for a bit. She doesn't take to it.

An unknown amount of time passes as I zone in on my work and tune out the world around me. When I have a moment to focus again, I look down at Ellie and notice she's chewing on something. It's a braided rawhide dog chew.
I grab it from her and ask my cubicle neighbor Traca (who has her dog Stella) if it belongs to her. Nope.

The next nearest dog is at least 30 feet away down the hall. Mind you, Ellie is trapped in my cube by a jail baby gate so she can't just wander wily nily.

Where in the world did this thing come from? The magical rawhide fairy?

"I don't know and I don't care. It's yummy!"

Desk Doggy

Ever since we moved to our new office, Ellie has been pretty antsy. The space is much bigger and more open so she can see and hear lots of things going on. I've invited her to join me on my chair, but instead, she uses it as a stair to get onto the desk. Today, I learned that she really enjoys sitting up on the desk and is much quieter!

Ellie sharing my chair

Watching me work

Finding her cozy spot

Santa Claus is comin'...

Santa came early this year for Ellie because today she received her secret Santa gift for the Kitty and Canine Gift Exchange. We participated in this last year and loved it, so we couldn't wait to do it again this year!

Not one, but three packages arrived for Ellie today. So we sat down with the boxes. 

Ellie's eyes glow with excitement

Ellie quickly picked out her favorite - tennis balls!

She starts dragging it away from the pile

At one point, she got the package of balls stuck under the couch.

She drags them across the floor...

Can I have that?

Patiently waiting for mom to take pictures

Thanks so much for our gifts, Jessica and Bodie!