Stella is Winterized

Stella is shedding her bad girl duds and donning her winter coat. It is COLD outside! And snowy. And windy. And did we mention cold?

Stella was a litte unsure of this coat when we tried it on in the store but now she practically jumps into it! Stella may not love being stuffed into a tiny parka but she hates being cold!

Pardon the messy open closet in the background.

Forget the walk. Stella is taking a nap.

SHE'S BACK AND SHE'S a BAD dog

So Stella and I have been absent for a little while. Totally my fault, not Stella's. I went and got myself a new job that involves long hours and SO much writing. So I have been sort of write-ed out by the end of the day. Any way, Stella promised to post some photos of her Halloween costume and, well, better late than never. At least I got them up before Christmas!!

Stella Awaits Halloween

What are you planning dress up as for Halloween, Stella?

A cutie pie kitty cat who happens to seizure a lot and pee on the floor?

No? Phew!

Well, how about a bunny rabbit? You do a great impression!

Nope? Okay.

Then, how about a glowey eyed goblin that guards the kitty food?

Not that either, eh?

Well, I know you are not planning on being a bat dog, you've been there done that!

I guess I will just have to wait and see what you plan to be.

Lumpy Lumpy Stella

So I noticed something very strange about Stella the other morning. She was looking up at me cute as can be but her hind quarters seemed, well, bumpy. "Stella, what is wrong with your leg?" I asked. On cue, Stella twisted around and started chewing on her leg.

Upon closer inspection, I found that Stella had huge bumps all over her rear legs and bottom half. She seemed a little itchy but not overly uncomfortable and she was not having difficulty breathing, drinking, or eating. She was still playing like normal as well. Her vet was closed that day so I did some online research and then ran to the drug store to pick her up some Benedryl and Oatmeal bath.

The lumps went down after adinistering the Benedryl and the bath but did not clear up entirely. She was fine until about bed time. She became restless and uncomfortable. The next morning her hives started appearing all over her body and face, and she threw up a few times. Our vet is awesome so they saw her straight away, squeezing her in between appointments.

The vet gave Stella a shot of Benedryl and a steroid shot. They also gave her a two week supply of meds. The hives were gone by the time she got home. They told us that we had done everything right with the Benedryl tablets and oatmeal bath. If it happens again, we should do the same thing and then give them a call.

She obviously had some sort of alleric reaction. The most obvious suspect to me is the bed sheets. I usually wash the bedsheets in Woolite / Zero bc I have sensitive skin. Mark (the bf), however, washed them in Tide.

I tried to get some photos but unfortunately they did not turn out very well.

Betty is Home!!!

Just a quick update to my last post, Betty has been safely returned to her home! Yay!

Now for the unlsettling news. Witness say they saw a young lady (probably in her twenties) take Betty from a parking lot. Betty's owners are assuming that this is the same young lady who returned Betty in exchange for a reward. I am not very clear on the events but Betty's owners feel that this whole event was very suspicious and, while they are happy to give a reward, in this particular exchange, the reward seemed more like a ransom.

Like I said, I am not clear on the details but Betty's mom seemed very upset about the whole situation. She is,however, very happy to have Betty home and so are we.

Welcome home, Betty!

Lost Dog - Lost Boston Terrier (not Stella)

Hello friends of Stella. Stella and I recieved a terrible email today. Please see below, and if you see Betty, call the number at the end of the message.

We lost our 2year old Boston Terrier Betty on October 5th. She is about 20 pounds with black and white tuxedo markings. She was last seen in the parking lot between Durie and Berseford north of Bloor St. W. (Bloor West Village). We believe she was picked up by a woman in her twenties. We really miss her and want her to come home. Please help spread the word. If everyone can please take a few moments to send this out to all your friends, this has a good chance of getting to the woman who picked her up and getting Betty home safely. You can also help by adding the page on Facebook so that your network has the chance to read the story. We will happily reward whoever gets her home.
Contact Jessie at 647-668-9161
Email: Jessicaainglis@ yahoo.ca
FB: http://www.facebook .com/group. php?gid=82505735 290

Summer is Ending. Sigh.

Stella is a trying not to get in a blue funk now that summer is over and it is that wet, grey, in-between summer and winter time. Luckily Stella did a lot of awesome cool things this summer that she can think about to cheer her up.

Stella went to the beach:

Stella got a new shirt:

Stella learned a new skill:

Stella met a gross new friend:

All in all Stella was a happy camper this summer:

Stella's New Best Friend: Amy

Stella made a new best friend this summer. Stella's new best friend is Amy, a tiny BT in our building. She looks just like Stella except miniature version. While Amy's parents went on vacay, we got to keep Amy at our place for a full week, it was awesome! When we were out walking, everyone thought that Stella was Amy's mom. Amy is actually older than Stella by six months, though. She is just a tiny BT!

Here is Stella hanging out with her new best friend, Amy:

Stella bike riding with Amy on a four person (and two dog) bike:

Stella and Amy swimming at Centre Island:

Stella and Amy cooling off in a fountain after running around in the heat all day:

Unfortunately, Amy and her parents moved out of the building this weekend but they are not far so I am sure that Amy and Stella will be seeing a lot of eachother. I will try very hard not to steal Amy.

Stella Loves Camping

Stella loves her fancy-pants doggie life jacket!

Stella loves canoeing!

Stella loves kayaking!

Stella loves having her own spot in the kayak!

Stella can't wait to go camping again next summer! I hope to post some more pics of Stella's camping activities soon, I just need to get the photos from the other camera.

Stella Bella is helping out around the house

Stella Bella will be back to blogging soon! She has just been very busy lately helping her family. How has she been helping, you ask?

Well

first she helped everyone have an AWESOME camping trip and

then

do a MAJOR condo clean up that involved getting rid of, and boxing up, half of everything we own

then

she helped her family give away all of their furniture

then

she helped us get all new furniture

then

she helped paint the condo

now

she is helping us get ready for a garage sale this coming weekend.

and Then she will be back to blogging!

Stella's Top 8 NickNames

Today's blog entry is inspired by the Ladypug Mugs blog. Not long ago, Clementine and Winston listed their nicknames and Stella thought to herself "Hey, I have some awesome cool nicknames!!!" Then she decided I should list them.

So, at Stella's request, here are Stella's "other" names. They are:

1. Stella Bella

2. Stinky

3. Stinky Stella

3. Nut Ball

4. Stumpy

5. Stumpy Butt

6. Pretty

7. Killer

8. Stella Ella Ola (Qwack Qwack Qwack)

So there they are. Stella's super cool nick names as given to her by her family, bestest friends and one guy she kind of tolerates.

UPDATE:

Stella now wishes me to add two more nicknames, as bestowed upon her by her Boston buddies, Mack and Murphy. So here they are:

9. Stella Ella Bella Della (as per Mack)

10. Stella Stels (as per Murphy)

Awesome! Eight is a sucky number for a list to have, ten is way better.

Pawlimpics 2008

The Pawlimpic Games, 2008 are here and Stella is proud to be one of the participants in the worldwide bone relay.




Stella only managed to get one photo entry in for the Pawlimpics mostly becuase her parents suck.

Here is a photo of Stella carrying the bone:






Thanks so much to our awesome friends at Wire Wise for putting so much work creativity and effort into these photos and video and hosting the games!

Stella and THE MYSTERY OF THE CHEW

Not too long ago, I posted an entry about Stella chewing her stuffingless stuffie. I even provided a little video to show you how her chewing of this stuffingless stuffie was much more toned down than it usually is - bo-ring. THEN I wondered if she had some strategy, some (and I quote) "master plan".

Well, I walked into the washroom, her favourite stuffie chewing station, just a few days later and what do I find?

Stella with her stuffingless stuffie turned completely inside out!!! Do you see in the photo that her toy is pretty much the same length as her? Or how narrow this particular stuffie is? How the heck did she manage this?

I guess I will just have to chalk it up to being the mystery of the chew.

So just to summarize: Stella above, stuffie right side out / Stella below, stuffie inside out.

Cartoon Made for Stella!

Stella's Laziest Chewing EVER

So I asked Stella to star in a video showing off her awesome stuffy chewing skillz on her stuffingless stuffy that has managed to last her a FULL TWO WEEKS!!!! Stella totally agreed because she knew the video was going to be seen by Murphy Dogg, who is Stella's favouritist punk rock dogg and who also possesses superior stuffie destroying skills.

But when I actually clicked record on the camera, this is the chewing she did. I just don't think her heart was in it, what do you think? Maybe it was the music in the background, too relaxing maybe? Or maybe I have it all wrong, she is actually being quite precise and methodical. All this chewing is part of her master plan.







Here is a photo of my adorable Boston with her favourite stuffingless stuffy toy (It's a bunny), the same one in the above video:

Stella Bella in the Snow

Stella Bella, my adorable and precocious Boston Terrier, is looking outside at THE RAIN!!! but she is thinking about how much more awesome it would be if she were in THE SNOW!!! She insisted I post this video of her playing in the snow this past winter.

Stella has been reading all of the dog blogs and she knows that a lot of her bloggy doggy friends are hating the heat right now so she is hoping this little video has helped you cool off!

Stella at PawsWay: Super Stella!!!!!

PawsWay on Harbourfront just sent me the photo they took of Stella last time we were there, which was the official grand opening weekend.

This July 26th & 27th is Puppy & Kitten Weekend at PawsWay in Toronto. Their email mentioned that there is great info for prospective or new pet guardians this weekend.

For more information please call at 416-360-PAWS (7297).

Stella VS. Giant Stuffie

Sorry it is so short, I must have cut it off :S

My Boston Terrrier, the Mighty Hunter...

"Look what I caught! Now I shall burry it in the backyard..."

Stella Bella is FED UP. No more kitty seizures or ELSE

So Stella loves pretty much everyone and everything (except dirty, grimey swans and some nefarious gangs of pigeons but who can blame her for that). Stella especially loves her roomie, Nappy Nellie. Except lately Nellie has really been trying Stella's patience.

The little dummy kitty has been in and out of the hospital, blowing through Stella's stuffie, chewie and treat money, not to mention her gets-to-stay-at-grammas-and-eat-tons-of crap-that-Nanette-would-never-feed-her-but-isn't-there-to-stop-her-because-she-is-another-country-with-her-bf money.

Last week, all was forgiven, though, because Nellie was home and supposedly better. Stella even let it slide that she was kicked out of her own home because Nellie bit a couple of vet technicians while in the hospital and so the health inspector "quarantined" her home. No people or pets were allowed around Nappie Nellie for 10 whole days (We may or may not have broken that rule once or twice). But even Stella couldn't blame Nellie for that one. I mean, she was having seizures, she didn't know what she's doing! She has her rabies shots so what the hell?...but I digress. Back to Stella

So the health inspector came and left and all was good. Except. Except right after the health inspector left (the same guy who inspects our condo pool, inspected our cat), Nellie started seizuring AGAIN! So back to emerg.

Nappy Nellie at emergency. Again.

Three days later, Nellie is home again, high as a purring kite, with a different combination of meds and a freshened up redonkulous hair cut. Well Stella is about fed up. Everyone is really tired and the cat is getting A LOT more attention than Stella Bella. Plus, 4 times a day, the cat gets medicine (which Stella is convinced is just a fancy, expensive word for treats).

Nappy Nellie better NOT have any more seizures. Or Else. Stella means it. Grrrr.

Stella's proof that everyone is tired. And that the cat is getting more attention then her.

Grrrrrr.

Stella Visits amp National Gaming Tour on Toronto Waterfront

Last week, Stella heard on the radio that the amp energy drink was sponsoring a giant gaming tour and making a stop in Toronto. Well, Stella loves games so she insisted upon putting on her brand new leash and heading over to the Toronto Harbourfront to join in the fun. I was going that way anyway so I did not even bother trying to explain that they wouldn't be playing her kind of games there. I am sure some of you are thinking that that might have been little mean of me but have you ever tried explaining the concept of video games to a dog? I would have been late for my lunch meeting!

Once Stella arrived at the gaming tent and realised that there were no games of catch, tug-o-war, or chase, she was a little disappointed....until she met this guy:

He is her new best friend and she totally loves him because he pet her a bunch and called her pretty.

Then she looked around a little bit and realized that, even though she was the only one there without opposable thumbs, she still fit in quite nicely; the sign even said so:

Unfortunately, I had to drag Stella away so I could get to my lunch meeting on time:

"Nooo, Don't make me go!!! I wanna go on tour!"

She's Ba-ack! Stella's roomie is home!

After a couple weeks in the hospital, blood work, Xrays, an ultrasound, CT scan, spinal fluid test, MRI, and just a few thousand dollars or so, Nappy Nellie is back and both Stella and Nellie could not be more excited.

Okay. Maybe "excited" was an overstatement.

Unfortunately Nellie does not seem to remember Stella. She has sustained some damage to her hippocampus because she had so many prolonged seizures but we do not know the extent of the damage yet.

"Hey, Where she goin? It's me, Stella!"

Nellie is very wobbly and she keeps falling off of things but that might just be because she is weak and not used to walking for a while, not because of brain damage. Only time will tell. Regardless of the cause, Stella does not quite grasp the seriousness of the situation so she laughs a lot at Nellie when she falls on her head and then Stella tries to keep the comedy going by attempting to JUMP on Nellie’s noggin. Not cool, Stella. Not cool.

"Don't tell me you fell down again? You so stupid! I should jump on your head now?"

(she did fall down again)

Stella also thinks Nellie’s new haircut is pretty funny. The back of Nellie’s head is shaved and so are some parts of all four of her legs. Ha ha, Nellie, thinks Stella. Now who looks silly?

"Ahaha! Bet you wish you did not make fun of my googly eyes so much!"


Stella and I want to thank Dr. Cochrane and all of the staff at the Vet Emergency Clinic, south, in Toronto.

You are so great and we are sorry Nellie bit two of your staff members. Stella’s thinking, though, that those two minor altercations might have been a result of the bad haircut and one too many enemas.

"Who is this crazy dog with the dumb googly eyes?" Says Nellie.

Stella Celebrates Gay Pride Week in Toronto

Stella may not be gay but she has been known to hump a leg or two which, in her mind anyway, makes her a just a little bit butch. And when she heard it was pride week here in Toronto, she just HAD to join in the festivities. So she donned her rainbow cape (which she got free from HomeSense) and Super Butch personna and headed off to Toronto's world famous Gay Pride Parade.

OMD, Stella had so much fun.
She woofed and cheered at some outrageous floats and costumes:

She met awesome people:

And when the PFLAG (Parents for Lesbians and Gays) marchers came in to view waving their "Proud of Our Gay Children" signs, I swear I saw Stella tear up a little.

Stella was also really excited to see the Canadian Armed Forces, Police Department, Fire Department, NDP, Green Party and Toronto Councillors out showing their support for Toronto's Gay community. It is nice to know that Toronto does not just spout off about diversity and acceptance, we can actually go ahead and practice what we preach. Yay Pride week!