Guest blogger Asha!!

I just realized that its been about six months since my last blog post.  You can read it HERE  I know my mom has talked about me some, but I have to tell you MY side of the story.  You know how moms are.

I guess I will just start where I left off last time.  Everyone was excited that I was going to start sleeping through the night.  Well, I don't like to do what people expect, so I have NOT started sleeping through the night.  A while back my mom and dad gave in and just started sleeping on the couch with me. They would take turns.  They say its not the best option but at least they get to sleep all night.  The problem is that I go to sleep downstairs just fine, but I wake up several times a night - I jump up, starting running, barking and spinning.  If my mom or dad aren't right there to touch me and tell me its okay I get real worked up.  For them, its easier just to be there with me instead of having to come downstairs.  Its just the way we do things right now. 

I have been seeing lots of Dr Hope Valentine - I get accupuncture about once a month and even thought I act like I hate it, I really do like it.  When we arrive at her office, I wag my tail like crazy and run all over the place until I find Dr Valentine and then I lean up against her and fall to the floor in a pile of happiness!  Once she gets the needles in, I climb on the couch, lay on my mom's lap and fall into a deep sleep.

My eyes used to have a lot of movement, that was my fire.  But now they have slowed down alot and my eyes are almost like normal eyes - except that I can't see.

In July, we added two new kitties to our home.  I used to love going upstairs to see Daisy but then one of the new cats started to swat me in the face and that made me nervous for a while. I didn't like going upstairs.  But now we are friends and I don't mind so much anymore. 

Right after those kitties came to live with us, I started to realize that we have other cats in the house too. There is one room, I never go in there, but I can always smell under the door. There's different cats in there all the time.  Buster says they are fosters, that means that they only stay here for a little while and then they go to their real home. 

The biggest news of all happened back in September, doggies come to live with us now!  We are on our 3rd.  Little doggies - these guys are fosters too.  I don't really understand the little dogs because they move so fast. They always want to touch my face and I can't keep track of them.

The one we have now, Romeo, he is growing on me.  He has been here the longest and so I am able to figure him out. Sometimes, at night, if he is laying where I want to lay, I get mad at him.  Then my mom moves him and its all okay.

I think its a good sign that mom and dad feel like they can handle having foster dogs and cats.  Last year at this time, I was a mess and so was my family.  I didn't start going to see Dr Pach el until December and I remember around Thanksgiving was the worst. That's when Maggie started getting mad at me and all I ever did was bark.  My mom was always crying.  It was really bad.  But here we are, a year later and we have fosters.  I can't believe we have opened up our home to more mayhem, but it seems to be working just fine.

My mom says that all of us permanent residents show the foster dogs how to be dogs.  I guess they have had a rough life and aren't so sure of things.  We may be crazy and our house may be mayhem, but there is love here.  Lots of love and patience.  My mom didn't think she would ever say that!

When our trainer came to the house and saw that we had a foster dog she started laughing and said that we have come so far.  She's one of the only people who know just how bad things were here.  We don't like to talk about that, especially me, because I caused it all. 

Over the last couple months, my mom and dad have been traveling a lot for work. They have been gone for 5 out of the last 10 weeks.  We've had a couple different people stay at our house.  Its not an easy job.  We have lots of routines and I don't sleep much especially if things aren't exactly as I like them.  I can't see or hear, you know, and so my life depends on routine. Otherwise I get real upset.

The first guy who stayed here in August quit pet sitting after being with me.  I didn't let him sleep at all the entire 5 nights he was here.   The next one we had after that has been great and I love her, but I still don't sleep. When she is here, I am so excited that I want her to stay awake all night and pay attention to me. Plus I miss my mom and dad, so I get stressed out and that's not good for any of us.

Mom says its good for me to do different things, meet new people and learn to have variety in my routine.  I say "NO".

Oh, that's another thing....up until this last week, I didn't know the word "no".  There was no signal or sign that had been effective.  The other day I did something dad didn't like and he jabbed me in the ribs with his thumb.  I got the message...I went into the corner and pouted until he came over and told me it was okay.  Mom and Dad were a little too excited to have figured out how to tell me no.  Now they thumb jab me when I jump up on the counters or do stuff they don't like. I've been doing less of it because of that....but I still don't like to be told no. 

I am growing up.  I'm a year and a half old.  Another year and I should be super well behaved.  Mom and Dad are learning how to deal with me better and I am learning so many things about the world around me.  We may not have the ideal life, but Maggie says NO ONE has an ideal life.

I think we have a good life and I know that there is no where I would rather be that in my house with my family....all of them - even the fosters.

The holiday season is here and I am really excited to see what I get for Christmas and Romeo says we need to make New Year's Resolutions.( I'd like to lose some weight) I am hoping the cats will help me do that. Daisy has been around the longest, I bet she'll have some tips.