Old Dog, New Tricks

Things Rosa didn't use to do, but now she does:

1. Follow me everywhere

2. Bark (when she's really, really excited)

3. Get excited 

4. Lick my hands, legs, and elbows...

5. Growl at Matt

6. Walk on a leash for about 10 steps 

7. "Walk" on a busy street without jumping into the snow out of fear 

8. Play...alllll....day....lonnnnng....

9. Eat more than just one type of food 

10. Chase Iggy (and Iggy alone). 

11. Beg for whatever food I'm eating (by staring at me)

12. Take things from the coffee table to her dragon's horde

13. Try to eat the cat food 

14. Run around with her tongue out while forcedly panting (it's like she saw a dog on TV do it, and she's copying)

15. Sleep on her back, on her side, sprawled out, on the blanket, on her toys, under the heater...

You Like Me.

Hey Again - Rosa here (escribí en español, también),

So the last few days have been pretty exciting. I've discovered my newfound love of all-things-fabric. Cloths, towels, blankets, pet beds, old slippers...if you let me have it, I will carry it around and chew on it.

I really like carrying things around. Bags of banana grams, toys, my piddle pad...I have no purpose for doing it other than that it is fun to take it from one side of the room to the other, and watch my foster mom put everything back (and then I do it again, it's awesome).

I've started eating more than just kibble pancakes. Today, I ate an organic chicken and rice meal. Sure, it came from a can, but lots of tasty things come in cans: refried beans, pasta sauce, corn...in fact, I didn't even want my kibble pancake. I suppose you could say my palate is expanding.

I have also honed a new skill: begging. If my foster parents decide to eat in the living room...I just sit there and stare at them. And I keep staring. And then I try to smell whatever it is they're eating. I give them the saddest, longest look...and they just won't budge. They will not share with me. They are hardened to my fuzzy stares.

Soulless humans.

Speaking of truly soulless humans, I think the person in charge of keeping me locked up in a cage and having puppies all the time probably looks a lot like my foster dad...because whenever he comes near me, I get really scared. I don't like him to pet me or be near me. I am starting to figure out that he's not actually the same person who did all those terrible things to me, but I think it's going to take me a while to warm up to him.

I love my foster mom, though. I follow her everywhere...and have even started letting her pet my head. I just walk right up when she puts her hand out (which I didn't do before yesterday). I like being scratched behind the ears, and under the chin. Sometimes we even play on the floor together.

Otherwise, things are good. The whole family has had a cold - and my foster brother, Iggy, caught a mouse (a live one!!) in the duplex upstairs! He let it go though. I personally don't think he knew what he was doing. Silly cats...

- Rosa.

--- 

Hola! Rosa aquí.

He tenido algunas aventuras en los últimos días. He descubierto mi preferencia para jugar con cosas hechas de tela: las toallas, mantas, y servilletas...si me das algo de tela, la llevaré desde cuarto a cuarto y masticarla.

Me gusta llevar cosas. Bolsas, juguetes, mis papeles de entrenamiento...
Los llevo a través del cuarto y después - miro mientras mi mamá limpia y arregla el cuarto otra vez.
Después de mi mamá limpiar, hago otro desastre. Es muy divertido.

He empezado comer más que kibble pancakes. Hoy, comí pollo y arroz...sí, estuvo en una lata, pero muchas cosas deliciosas están en latas: frijoles, salsa de tomate, sopa... de verdad, no quería mi pancake, ni un poco. Pienso que estoy ampliando mi paladar.

Además, he aprendido algo nuevo: pedir la comida. Si mi familia come en lo mismo cuarto que yo...me siento y miro fijamente (y continuo a mirar fijamente). Me pongo una cara muy triste y patética, pero nunca - nunca - comparten conmigo.

Gente sin alma!

Mientras estoy pensando en gente sin alma...la persona que me guardó en una jaula desde hace 6 años probablemente pareció a mi papá adoptivo; esta la digo porque cada vez mi papá quiere acariciarme o jugar conmigo, me pone muy asustada. Estoy aprendiendo que Matt no es lo mismo hombre, pero va a tomar más tiempo hasta puedo confiar en él....

Al otro lado...mi mamá es mi mejor amiga! La sigo en todas partes...y la he dado permisión para acariciarme detrás de las orejas. Cuando dice mi nombre, camino a ella (no hice esta hasta ayer). A veces, jugamos en el piso.

Cosas aquí están muy bien. Bueno...toda la familia está enferma pero no es serio. Y mi hermano - el gato - Iggy agarró un ratón. Nunca antes había agarrado nada. Pensamos que Iggy no tenía ninguna idea sobre lo que hizo. Gato tonto...

XoXo
Rosa

Wonder Pet

Rosa, Iggy, and me cuddling on the couch.

Rosa, Iggy, y yo estamos apapachando! 

Rosa cooking her own breakfast.
Rosa cocina su propia comida. 

I'm tired, so I want to keep this post brief, especially because I really suck at Spanish when I'm tired and I'm blogging in both languages.
I mean, I kind of suck at it all the time, but that's beside the point.

Estoy cansada por lo tanto quiero que sea breve, especialmente porque tengo que escribir en español y tengo problemas pensar en español si mi cerebro esta durmiendo...
Bueno, nunca escribo/hablo español muy bien, pero no es el tema de mi blog.

We've officially had Rosa here for just over a week. It's amazing to see how much she's blossomed in such a short amount of time. For the first 3 days, she was terrified to leave her kennel. Now, she's out and about, running around, throwing her toys...she'd almost have you fooled into thinking she spent her whole life in this house.

Hemos tenido Rosa aquí casi 10 días. Esta perrita ha crecido mucho en un poco de tiempo. Durante los primeros 3 día, Rosita estaba muy preocupado - no quería dejar de su perrera. Ahora, le gusta correr en la casa, tirar sus juguetes. A veces, casi parece una perrita que ha vivido con nuestro familia toda su vida. 

Almost.
Casi. 

She still won't wander further than the living room, she still won't approach you completely (she'll come really close, though). She still runs away if you look at her, and she won't eat if you watch. She sometimes cries when she sleeps, and today she had her stuffed animals pulled up to her side like they were going to nurse.

Todavía no explorará toda la casa. También no se acercará a mi completamente. Si la miras, correrá a su cama. No comerá con gente en el cuarto. Tiene pesadillas y llora en su sueño...y piensa que sus juguetes son bebés y intenta amamantarlos.

Heartbreaking, beautiful little champion. She's the poster-child for resilience.
She's also the poster child for stubbornness; last night I made her kibble-cakes a slightly different way and she wouldn't eat them. This morning I made them the normal way and she was fine again.

Rompe mi corazón, mi hermosa y pequeña campeona; el ejemplo perfecto de fuerza.
Y resistencia - anoche cociné sus pancakes en una manera diferente y Rosa no los comió. Esta mañana los hice "normalmente" y no tiene problemas...

Little princess.
Princesita.

I am continuously surprised and inspired by how much this little dog can teach me - about the world, and about myself. Sometimes we think we're the ones doing the rescuing, but I know all to well that it works the other way around.

Estoy sorprendida y inspirado por las cosas que Rosa me ha enseñado - sobre el mundo, sobre mí misma. A veces, pensamos que estamos rescatando los animales....pero en este caso...estoy segura que Rosa me esta rescatando.

Quieres Comer?

English Way Below!
Hola otra vez!

Esta semana, no he querido comer nada. Mi mamá me ha dado 2 mil tipos de comida, pero ultimamente no me he gustado ninguna. Pero esta mañana, la gente estaba cocinando pancakes y olieron muy bien. Mi mamá me vio y me dijo "quieres algo para comer? te gustaría pancakes?"

Yo estaba muy emocionada y quería decir, "sí, por favor!" Por suerte, mi mamá puede leer mi mente, y a pesar de no decir nada, ella me dio un pancake. Fue lo mejor del mundo. Más tarde, ella me preparó otras pancakes de comida para perros. En serio! Puso los kibbles en la licuadora hasta convirtieron a un tipo de harina.

Pienso que mi mamá me quiere mucho. Y, la familia que quiere adoptarme le dijo a mamá que no tiene problemas con cocinarme pancakes :) Perfecto. Cuando sea grande, quiero ser gorda.

Hoy, recibí otro baño. No me gustaba el agua, pero disfruté el masaje con jabón. Después de bañar, corrí como loca alrededor la casa...comí otra vez, tiré mis juguetes, y ladré por primera vez (quería jugar con mis gatos...).

Mi juego favorito el día de hoy ha sido seguir a mi mamá en la casa, y cuando ella me da cuenta....corro a mi cama rápidamente. Pienso que este juego es muy divertido. Oh! Y a veces, mi mamá se esconde y me voy para encontrarla...y cuando la veo, corro a mi cama. Me gusta mucho correr a mi cama.

Todavía no he hecho mis cosas en el patio...ayer, el hombre de mi mamá quería dar(me) un paseo...
Discúlpame, pero...no voy a caminar a ninguna parte. Especialmente en la nieve. Y hoy, estaba muy distraída por las ardillas y los pájaros. Mi mamá ha construido otro plan, pero no va a funcionar. Nunca voy a usar el baño en la nieve.

Nunca. Me oyes? Bueno.

Le envié una foto a Bali. Mis padres no quieren que tenga novio pero...ya he tenido 30 perritos. Puedo hacer lo que quiera.

Hasta mañana,
Rosi, Rosa, Rosalia, Rosalina, Rosalinda, Linda Rosa, Rosa Chica, Chiquiturri, Chiquinina, Chiquilina.

Hey Again, 

In the week that I've been here, I've put my parents through a food saga. I basically hate everything they give me. I'll like something for about 3 minutes, but then I never want that food again. I have most enjoyed the kibbles they have here, but I have no teeth and it's hard to eat them. But this morning, my people were making pancakes and they smelled soooo good. I just wanted one so badly! So, my mom gave me a little bit of pancake and I loved it.

She knows that people food isn't really good for me, so she must really love me because she used the food processor to blend up my kibbles in a flour, which she then turned into a pancake. I ate it so fast! I could get used to a lifetime of pancakes (although I have a feeling they're going to try and ween me into some more natural form of dog food)...but really, my life's goal is to grow up and be fat.

Pancakes would be great for that.

Oh, today...I got another bath. I smell like peppermint...
I don't really like bathing, the water hose they use - despite being nice, warm water - makes me a little nervous. However, I am a big fan of being lathered up in soap. After my bath was over, I ran around the house super happy and crazy, and then threw all my toys, ate a little bit, tried to play with my cats and then .....

I barked for the first time (and only time).

My people are taking this to mean that I'm comfortable here...but I don't want them to think I'm too comfortable...then they might stop spoiling me. I can't take any chances, which is why I do super cute things like playing games with my mama.

Today's favorite game has been following her wherever she goes, and then when she turns around I run really really fast back to my bed. Also, she wanted to play hide and seek with me today...and so I'd come find her, and then when I did I'd get scared and run really, really fast back to my bed. I think the game I actually like to play is "run back to the bed as fast as I can."

I still haven't managed to use the bathroom outside. They keep trying, but I keep refusing. They've concocted a new plan...and I'm afraid it might work. But can you blame me for resisting? I never, ever want to use the bathroom in the snow. Ever. Would you?

Also, today...I sent a photo of myself to my Oaxacan boyfriend, Bali.

Until tomorrow, 
Rosa.