Lucy's Take... It Takes Fierce Determination To Be A Good Puppy!

It's me Lucy Lou... Mom keeps calling me little Lucy, but I'm 32 pounds now, so I'm not sure that's still appropriate. I wonder when she'll stop referring to me as "Little Lucy". Maybe when I get as big as the German Shepherd? I'm big enough to jump in and out of the car without anyones help and this morning Mom said that it's time for a new car harness because I've gotten so big. She keeps talking about the front seat not being big enough for me anymore, but I'll be so sad if I don't get to ride shotgun anymore. Maybe Mommy should drive Daddy's truck. There is more than enough room for me in the front seat of the truck! (Mommy caught me staring at my own reflection in the sliding glass door- I can't get away with anything. She must have some kind of radar!)

I am still waiting for a ride in the bright yellow Boxster. I think it's perfect- a boxer in the Boxster. I was so sad when I saw Mommy drive away the other day in the yellow car and I couldn't go with her. I know that I would love riding around with my ears flopping in the wind, and I promise not to get any mud on the seats... I'll be a very good puppy, Mommy- I promise.

Lucky for me, my Mom does a good job of telling the stories of my adventures, because she hardly ever gives me a chance to do it. It's nice to be able to tell my side of the story every once in a while. Of course if I had to write about it all the time, I would have no time to have the adventures- so it's best that Mommy does it.

I've been trying to stay out of trouble for the last week because as we were leaving the vet's office last week, Mary patted me on the head, laughed and asked me to try to stay out of trouble. So every morning, I awake my Mom & Dad with my little but wiggling, and I try so hard to psych myself out for the day. I give them big kisses and sometimes I nibble on their ears- my Human's don't know it, but I'm trying to tell them that I'm going to be the best little puppy that I can be today. So far, I think it's working out pretty well. I haven't swallowed any of Mommy's earrings lately, I'm leaving Daddy's ball caps alone, and I'm trying so hard to stay out of the German Shepherds way! I've been greeting all of her customers and every one else that I meet by sitting and waiting for them to come down to see me. It's really challenging because everyone I meet looks like they need a big boxer kiss and it's hard to sit still when your whole body is wiggling.

It's been really hot here the last several days. Mom wants to take me to the dog park, I know she does because she seemed sad on Sunday because it was too hot to go. And my brother, Tank was supposed to come for a play date, but Mom said it got cancelled because of the rain. It rains here too much. I really don't understand that much because I don't mind playing in the rain, as long as she promises to dry me off when we're all done playing. Hopefully he comes soon, because I miss playing with him!

The neighbor next door loved me so much when she met me that she went out and got a boxer. I got to play with him once after he came to live there. But, my mom says that now he's sick and can't come out and play. I'm sending all kinds of big boxer vibes his way so he can come play with me, he's a very good looking brindle boxer. Mommy said that he was over here looking for me the other day- he must like me as much as I like him. Wish I would've seen him. I'm sure a kiss would have healed him all up!



On Memorial Day, Mommy & Daddy came home with 3 big tropical plants. Mom told me that she was going to plant them in the big pots that I love so much. She looked pretty serious when she said to me "And you had better leave them alone." I know they bought those just so I would have something to play in.

A couple of days later, Mommy dragged the bags of dirt out to the deck, got out the little garden shovel and started putting the dirt in the pots. I was a big help! I opened the bags, and dragged tons of dirt out onto the deck for Mommy. And when she emptied out the plastic pots, I carried them away for her! I'm pretty sure she appreciated my help.

Mommy keeps telling me to leave the plants alone, but she always smiles and gets her camera when I start messing around in the pots. I'm probably not supposed to be doing that, and Mommy knows that, but it's hard for her when I look so cute doing it. My human has a hard time resisting things that make my little butt wiggle.

I'm pretty sure I have allergies, because I've been all sniffly and sneezy for the last couple of days. Mom says the pollen count is really high, but I don't know what that has to do with my sniffles and sneezes. Some days, it makes me really tired and I look hard for a comfy place to curl up and take a little nap. Sometimes, Mommy will get down on the floor with me and let me curl up on her lap, but most of me falls off. I used to fit on Mommy's lap, I don't know why that doesn't work any more.

When Mommy is busy, I'll curl up with Willy the Octopus or the little brown platypus that we haven't found a name for. Mommy thinks we should call him Snuggles, but I'm not so sure about that name. She put a big pillow in her office and I love to curl up right next to her and take a nap. Sometimes, it's pretty boring at the store and we don't see customers for hours and hours. That's okay though, because when we're bored, we take lots of walks and Mommy gets my toys out and plays with me.

The big green garden hose is fantastic! I could play with it all day. If I sit and look at it long enough, Mom will eventually come out of the house and turn it on for me. I'm not really sure why, but the Shepherd doesn't like to play with the hose- so when Mommy turns it on, I get it all to myself.

I still can't figure out how to make the water stop, but I love sticking my whole face right in the water. And if I put my paws over the end of the nozzle, water will spray in every direction. Yesterday, when Mommy was out there with me, I managed to get her completely soaked... Sorry Mom!

Sometimes, Mommy will pick up the hose and try to soak my whole body with it. The other day she asked me why I like to get so dirty. Sorry Mom! I don't much care for it when she hits my whole body with the hose, but I love my face being wet. She really only does that when I'm muddy or I've been playing in the fire pit. I don't quite understand, but for some reason, she doesn't like to see my little white paws covered in dirt- she tells me that it has something to do with that white kitchen floor that she's always sweeping and mopping.

Of course, when she shuts the hose off, I want to be dried off as soon as possible, I'm just not as cute when I'm wet and we all know that there is always a camera close by as long as my Mom's around! (See what I mean, here I am all wet, and my Mom's taking my picture. Come on Mom- this isn't my best look!) Today after I got all wet, I started running around the porch in all kinds of crazy circles, flopping around on the deck, and putting my butt up in the air, trying to dry myself off, but Mommy watched intently and insisted that I was dancing. Where does she come up with this stuff? I just wanted to be dry and she was laughing at me. Silly Human!

Being a good puppy means that I don't chew on anyones shoes. Sometimes, Mommy will leave a pair of shoes behind, and they look so tasty, especially since my baby teeth are falling out and my big girl teeth are coming in. But, if I sit down and wait for my mom to see me with the shoes, I'll usually get something even tastier than the shoes to chew on. Today, I got a dried chicken strip and a "Good Lucy" when I resisted Mom's sandals. Those sandals are still sitting over there and I haven't even looked their way. Mommy says I'm a very smart little pup. I've lost a couple of my baby teeth, but the ones that Mommy can't wait for to go away are still in there. It's really hard to resist the urge to chew, they hurt so bad sometimes. Thankfully, Mommy understands because she's always handing me tasty things to chew on. Yesterday I got a t-bone, unfortunately, Daddy didn't know that it was mine and he gave it to the Shepherd and now it's gone. (See how good I am, I only looked at the shoes- my mouth never touched them- and it wasn't easy. There's that determination thing I was referring to earlier!)

The better I behave, the more freedom Mommy gives me. Yesterday, she had to leave for several hours, and instead of going in my kennel, she left me in the kitchen with the patio door open. I had a lot of fun going in and out, and I stayed out of trouble the whole time she was gone. I was in the yard playing when she got home- boy was I happy to see her, I ran as fast as my legs would carry me across the yard when she yelled "Lucy, Come!"- Mommy looked so happy to see me! She always gets really excited when I wiggle so hard that my whole body folds in half. She calls it "kidney beaning" and she got right down on the ground with me and gave me a big kiss on my nose.