Happy Anniversary, Honey

Its been six months since Belle came to stay, and in that six months, she's transformed from a strange half-starved dog with more than her share of medical problems into a beautiful member of the family.

And today, it was a full day for the three of us.

First, I took Belle into the vet for a check-up, which she passed with flying colors.

Murphy did not have to come in today, a fact for which he was grateful.

"No, it's ok. You guys go in and I'll just wait out here."

Then it was off to the dog park for some running in the sun.

Here, they chase John, owner of Maggie Belle's former pound-mate, shown lower left.

Careful, John! Running from Germans Shepherds can trigger instinctive take-down behavior!

Then Murphy played with some other dog's ball while Belle just chilled.

After the park, we went to Wal-Mart to buy some low-priced Chinese-made stuff at great prices, and on the way out, we stopped to let some high school kids wash the ride. Murphy and Belle came out and watched from the grass.

"Da rims! You missing them!"

Then we finished off the day with a stop at the river, and yes, Belle had her first swim...sort of. There are no pics of this event because I had to go into the water to get her in (with help from a 20-foot lead), but she did finally paddle around just a bit before deciding that wading was really her forte, at least for today. But she got wet, and that's what counted. Also important was that it was pretty obvious that she didn't like the idea of going in, but she came in anyway with just a bit of coaxing from me and she didn't fight or freak out like a lot of dogs would have. She trusts me and has the confidence to come out of her comfort zone for me. I like that.

As for Murphy? Well that nut paddled about and chased his beloved dollar-store throw toy for half an hour straight; there's no keeping him out of the water.

Now we're home again and it's almost dinner time, but the dogs are worn out. They'll sleep great tonight, I'm thinking.

Happy six-month anniversary, Miss Memphis Belle. Murphy ad I couldn't ask for a better addition to the pack and no matter what, you've got your forever home here with us.