Been a long time since I wrote one of these things...

I haven't written a diary entry in forever, so I figured, why not now?
Lots has changed siince my last entry. First of all, I am all grown up now! I am a big guy, about 79 lbs. I also turned two on St Patrick's day this year. (Same as my daddy's b-day!)
The next thing that is different is that mom is gonna have a puppy. Err, I mean, a baby. I think that's what the humans call their puppies. Mom is not very far along. Only 10 and a half weeks right now, I think. Sheesh, humans are pregnant for a long time! But in January of next year, we will have a min human in the house. I wonder what that will be like. I wonder if I have to stay off the mini human's bed too. Mom and dad don't let us on the bed anymore.
I am starting to grow out of my "eating everything" stage that mom and dad hated. Now I can be left alone for short periods of time, so I spend a lot less time in my dumb crate. But sometimes mom leaves a bowl of cereal where I can reach it, and it tastes so good, I eat it all. She gets really mad when she comes back in the room to find her food all gone!
It has been raining a lot lately. I hope it stops soon. Mom wants to take us to the park where she took Martini and Tido the other day. They went there for a cookout. But we have to wait for a day when daddy is off work, so he can come too. Mom says I am too hard to handle by herself. Pshh, she's just slow!

The Baddest Puppy in the World...

I have been with my mom and dad for about 7 and a half months now, and the other day I was officially dubbed "the baddest puppy in the world". I haven't been listening to mom or dad at all. Last night mommy got really mad at me. She let me out of my cage, and I jumped on her bed and peed all over it. Oops... She got so mad! Her and dad had to buy stain remover stuff for the mattress, and a new comforter and sheets for the bed so they would have something to use while the regular bedding stuff was getting washed. Then the other day while mom was taking a nap, I went over to the lamp ans ate the cord. Yep, I actually ATE it. Not just chewed it, but ate it. I left about 2 inches and the outlet plug and that was all. Luckily for me it was unplugged. Mom was furious at me for that one. She says as soon as she gets money and finishes Christmas shopping, I am going to "school", aka obedience classes. I hope those classes are fun.
Other news... There was a new law passed in my county saying that all pits are vicious and we must be muzzled or on a three-foot metal leash at any time while we are out in public. Mom and dad also need to get $100,000 insurance. Mom is upset and says it is unfair.
I can't wait until Christmas this year! It is going to be my first Christmas. Mom wanted to get me a "My First Christmas" shirt, but she doesn't have any extra money for that. She said she will probably get presents for me and Tido over the internet, rather than go to the stores for them, since there are so many cute things on the internet. The humans are talking about a day called Thanksgiving. Don't know what that is, but they keep saying the "turkey" word, so it must be a good kind of day.
Speaking of holidays, we didn't get to do anything for Halloween. We both had costumes (Tido was a prince, and I was a pirate) but mommy and daddy both had to work and they were tired. So we didn't get to go trick-or-treating, but we did get to relax at home.
The weather has been getting colder and colder lately, so Tido and I have been cuddling and watching movies with mom and dad in bed.
Oh, and speaking of Tido, mom was very worried about him about a week ago. Mom put flea medicine on us, and Tido had an allergic reaction to it. He kept itching, and whining, and rolling. He wouldn't stop crying. We didn't know if his skin was itching or burning. Mom took him to the emergency vet, and they gave him a shot of benadryl. Then they told us that Tido should take more benadryl the next day. About 2 days later, Tido was feeling a lot better. He still itches every once in a while, but not as bad as before. Mom kept babying Tido and I didn't want him to get all the attention, so I had to keep bugging him and picking on him to even things out. Bol.
Well, I have places to be and things to chew, so peace out. Love, Phoenix

Update...

So mom and dad have been pretty busy, as usual. I have settled in very well with Mom and dad and Tido and we are all one happy family. (Mom says she doesn't understand why the "whole family" has to hog the bed at night though!) I have plenty of toys, and mom and dad play with us whenever they can. We get to go for walks and go to the park and all sorts of cool stuff! Mom and grandma even took us to the K9 Fun Days last weekend. It was soo much fun. Mom and I entered in the best kissing contest, and I didn't win, but I did give my best performance. Bol. I got treats and a beautiful new collar. It is a wide martingale collar with chinese dragons embroidered on it. I saw so many different dogs there! I wanted to play so bad, but mom said it wasn't a good idea. Everyone there kept telling mom how beautiful I am, even AFTER they found out what breed I am! Mom was happy. Only one person made a negative comment about me, but mom said that lady's opinion doesn't count anyways.
I went to the vets the other day. We switched to the Banfield vets at petsmart. They gave me my shots and a physical and tested to make sure the giardia I had was gone. Bad news- It's not. I still have it!!!! GRRR! Good news- the vets gave us a new medicine to try in conjunction with the first one. Maybe it will work this time..
Mommy's sister, Elena also adopted a new dog named Peyton. He is about 2 and he is a pit bull/hound mix. He looks kinda like me. The humans joke that he is my long lost father. So now Rosa (Elena's female amstaff) has a new friend.
Yesterday, mom, Tido, Rosa, Tim, Peyton, Singer, Grandma, Mike, Elena , and I all went to the park. We must have looked like a dog obedience class going on a field trip! Bol. There were five dogs and 5 humans! We wlked about 3 miles of trails. I still had energy, but my old fogie brother Tido didn't. He also has a bum knee, and it was acting up. (Mom told me not to pick on him about it, so don't let anyone know I told you!)
Mom is still trying to work with me little by little. I know basic commannds, but it is a matter of whether or not I choose to listen or not. Hehe. They don't call us pit bull TERRIERS for nothin'!

It's hard being a puppy...

It is raining outside. This is the first time it has rained since I lived with mom and dad, and I don't even get to play in it. How rude! I guess I can't complain too much though, because these people I live with are great. They bought me a nice comfy dog bed yesterday. I love it. They also got me some compressed and rawhide bones. Yummm! I have a lot of toys now too. Mom says it is good for pups to play, because that's how we learn.
Mom and dad even got a new bed. They let me and Tido on it too. And this one is actually big enough for all 4 of us to be on at the same time! Tido would rather sleep under the bed than on it though.. :)
I am coming along nicely in training, mom syas. She yold me I am a very smart boy. I know "off" (that means no jumping on mom or dad), "sit", "no", and "go potty". Those aren't very advanced, but mom says it is inmportant that I know those basic things. I learned my name and I usually come when called, because most times, there is something good in it for me!
Anyways. I haven't gone to the vet yet, because mom and dad have been havong money problems and they have been really busy lately. (It's fine with me if they don't take me. All the vet wants to do is poke me with needles anyways! Ouch!) But mom says I will probably go saturday. I need to go soon to get my shots so they can put me in puppy kindergarten. I am not all the way sure what that means, but I know there will be other puppies to play with. I love to play! Well, mom, Tido, and I have a nap to attend to in the brand new comfy human bed. That's all for now.

My first days at home

Hi dogsters, I'm Phoenix. I was adopted from a rescue where I used to be called Petey, because I look like the Little Rascals dog. Anyways, mom and dad took me home and we have had so much fun in the past 9 days that I have lived with them. But... there were some rough patches.
I was having diarreah all week, but when mom and dad saw that there was clear stuff and blood in it on Sunday, they rushed me to the emergency vet. We were there for about two hours. I had to take a test for a puppy disease called Parvo. They had to swab my but with a q-tip! Not my favorite part of the day, we'll say that much. Then they told mom that they wanted to have a sleepover with me at the vet's office! I thought that was cool, until I heard that I was gonna be poked with a sharp needle called an I.V. The day seemed to be getting worse and worse. So mom and dad left, and said they would call in the morning to check on me.
When mom and dad called, they were told that I had giardia, which I think is a bug that lives in my tummy and eats my food. Not cool at all! So I had to stay an extra night with the needle in my arm. I also had a big dumb lampshade on my head too, supposedly so I wouldn't scratch or pull out the I.V. thing. They wanted to keep me another night in that yucky, bad place. The next morning mommy and a friend came to get me. I walked into the waiting room, and everyone in the waiting room went "awww!". ( I wonder, since I am a pit bull, will they hate me when I get big, or will they still say "aww"?) Anyways, as soon as I recognized mommy, I pounced over to her and showed her how much I had missed her. I tried giving her extra-sloppy kisses, and my tail was wagging so hard it nearly fell off! I was so happy to go home and play with my toys and sleep in my crate.
They gave mommy a medicine called flagyl, and I have to take it twice every day. Eeewww. I don't like it, so mommy opens my mouth and puts it down by my throat so I swallow it. Mom was a little upset that the emergency vet clinic was so packed, because she didn't even get to talk to the vet besides the day that she brought me in and I was examined. The technicians just gave mommy a paper telling her how much money my treatment was (mommy says it was a gi-normous amount) and instructions on how to take my new medicine. But mom said she will just call my regular vet if she has any questions or problems. Speaking of that, I need to find a good hiding place pretty soon, because mom said she has to schedule a follow-up apppintment and puppy shots for me at the regular vet. I haven't been there yet, but I hope they don't put an I.V. in my arm again! Hmm... wonder if the food there is good....
So today is the day I came home, and right now, me and daddy have a nap to attend to. Everyone send me some well-wishes please, so the bugs in my tummy go away!