Sassy Pants

Before she was Leelah Bean, she was Sassy Pants aka Blossom.  Sassy because of the ATTITUDE.  Pants because it looks like she sat in some brown paint and is now wearing little pants.  So, as I knew there would be, we had a few lovely days of puppy honeymoon where she was all sweetness and only a touch of spice. 

HAHAHA like THAT would last.  Sassy Pants is back in full form.  I have not been able to take pictures of her because it's A) impossible to catch creatures moving that quickly on film, even with the shutter set at something like 2000 (honest!) and B) how could I possibly take pictures of her while simultaneously removing the table from her mouth... followed by a shoe, a computer cord, the door of her vari-kennel, my other dog's tail... and so on.  Yes, I would have to have eight arms to successfully photograph and manage her right now.  I actually gave her a thimble of Nyquil to steal this time on the computer *joking*. 

Leelah Bean has a new hobby.  It's very specific.  She stands still for a quarter of a second.  She then rushes towards to couch in her lopsided puppy run and jumps AT it with all her energy.  Given that she is small enough to put in your handbag, she cannot make it onto the actual couch.  She can, however, startle other sleeping dogs, bite human hands or any other moving thing, and generally be a mini-horror.

Her second hobby is something close to swimming.  Except instead of a pool, she is using the water bowl.  And instead of jumping in, she is dumping the water all over the floor.  It is quite a show since the water bowl is bigger than her.  She grabs it with great determination and drags it slowly across the floor, starts thumping it to gain momentum (or perhaps as a signal for me to come running into the kitchen), and then finally has the great moment and dumps it all out. 

She's fabulous, Miss Pants!  

Hula Dogs?

I know there are people out there that have agility dogs, disc dogs, rally dogs, etc.  What do you think about Hula dogs?

Friends and Flirtations

Leelah Bean is trying very, very hard to befriend the border collies.  They are six and believe themselves to be quite mature and serious, not prone to puppy antics and silliness.  She's having better luck with the Cavalier - here's a little video of them.

Yesterday we made a trip to the local pet store to pick up some freeze-dried liver (really, can one ever have enough FD liver?!) and she had a wonderful time saying hello to a young boy, two male staff, and a female shopper.  She saw a big american bulldog outside the store and tried to hide under a car.  Even though they were far away, he really locked onto her (perhaps she appeared to be a small adorable bunny... hmmm).  They stayed at a distance and soon Leelah Bean came out and it was as if nothing had ever happened.  Anyway, all the more reasons to have a large supply of FD liver!  

Today we have been playing outside in the blustery weird late April weather.  Here are some pictures from this morning...

That's about it for now!

Introductions

Hello!  This is the blog for Leelah Bean, formerly known as Blossom, the tiny spotted girl from the Ivy x Peat litter of eight.  She was born 2/17/10 and came to her forever home last Sunday, April 25th.  She is nine weeks full of socialization, enrichment, love, and cuteness.

This is Leelah Bean sleeping after some serious puppy play.  She likes to do that.  Right now her days are spent in a simple routine.  Potty, play, sleep, potty, play, sleep.  We eat a few times a day also.  And of course there's always a little training tossed in (but it's so much fun it might as well go in the play category).  It's a good life. 

This is Leelah Bean's pink Plush Puppy.  She loves it.  For at least two minutes at a time before moving on to the next toy...

So, about the name.  Well, as already mentioned, she was formerly adorably named Blossom.  The flower motif was something we liked, but she also had the nickname Bean since she looks like a little pinto bean with her brown spots (and sometimes she behaves like a little jumping Bean)! 

We were in a Flowers&Legumes trend!  The name Bean is adorable but she needed something a little more dainty to accent it.  Blossom Bean just didn't roll off the tongue, nor did Lily Bean.  Lily had a brief time in the running since it means 'blossoming flower' and sticks with the flower motif.  But since Lily sounded a bit awkward, we tried Lilah Bean.  This worked pretty well except that it sounds a lot like Lima Bean!  A good friend pointed out that Lilah, in sanskrit, is pronounced Lee-lah and has a meaning that approximates reality as play and creativity.  There are also other fun meanings like freedom of expression. 

If I could have Leelah Bean grow up to be anyway at all, it would be a joyous, loving and creative soul.  Leelah it is.  And of course we still have Bean, the intrinsically cute and energetic part of her. 

So far, she is living up to her name.  She is nothing but joy and love and sweetness (with a little pep tossed in).  Stay tuned for more news, videos and pictures about Leelah Bean!