Guest Blogger: Tia Maria

Hello! I am always hearing about blogs that other dogs have--I especially like hearing about the adventures of Jake and Max--and I thought, wouldn't it be fun to write something like that myself some day! So, I asked Heather if I could write something for her blog, and she said yes--yay! (I'm very good at begging!)

My name is Tia Maria and I am a Miniature Pinscher. I may be small, but watch out! I protect what's mine, whether my toys or my humans. Heather is friends with my mom and dad, and works with dad. She may not be part of my family, but I still consider her one of mine. I love visiting her when she is at work. She always stops to pet and talk to me. Sometimes she even plays with me a little or gives me treats.

I have a big yard out in the country, but I am only allowed to go in certain parts of it (that's my special collar in the picture above that keeps me safe in my own yard). Mom and Dad are afraid I might be attacked by a kind of large dog they call a coyote. My big brother, Jigs, was killed by one a few years ago. It makes me sad that I cannot run through the fields and chase all the rabbits, chipmunks and birds hiding in there. I am a very good hunter. I have brought home birds (Mom doesn't like it when I leave them in her bed) and once found an entire rabbit carcass left behind by a coyote. Foolish coyote--there were a lot of yummy bones still left inside. I think my humans were impressed with my find, even if they did yell at me for dragging it inside and up on the sofa. What was I supposed to do with it? I wasn't about to leave it outside where someone else could find it. That stupid coyote might have remembered and come back for it!

I love to play with my toys, and have plenty of them. My favorites are a little soft soccer ball (which I often hide inside my bed so no one can steal it), a stuffed mouse, and a Greenie toothbrush (which I also hide). I am not that fond of a game they call "fetch," but love to play tag. I am very fast, but sometimes I let whoever is "it" catch me just to be fair. I do not like to play outside when it is cold or wet, though. Or when it is too hot. I am definitely an indoor dog!

During this last winter I hardly went outside at all because all that stuff on the ground (they called it %&*^$ snow) was both cold and wet, and there was so much of it that a little dog like me could be buried beneath it and no one would ever find me. Because I was always so cold, even when I was snuggled inside my bed, my Mom bought me some sweaters to keep me warm. I know bigger dogs scoff at such fashion, but they are bigger and have more fur to keep them warm. Sometimes I wish Mom would buy something to keep my feet warm!

I'm off to patrol the perimeters now--afterall, a dog's duty is never done, but hope that I can come back again sometime.

Tia