A Word - or several - From Baby Dahl

Hello. My name is Dahlia and I'm writing this cuz I wanted to tell things from my point of view.

So. I came to mommy cuz she found me for free on Craigslist. She was moving from a small town in Ohio to Chicago and she wanted a "furry burglar alarm". She was actually looking for other stuff on CL, but then she decided to look at the pets, too. When she saw an ad for "free black and white puppies", she contacted the poster and got the contact info. When she came to my used-to-be-home, she went and met my mommy and daddy and then my old owner took her to the garage, where me and my siblings were staying. Me being me, I was outside of the box we'd been in and when the garage door was opened, I came running from a far corner of the garage. The guy told mommy I was a girl - cuz mommy had said she'd wanted a girl - so she picked me up and we bonded, right then and there. She looked at my sisters, too, but it was more a formality than anything. So then, I went home with mommy.

On the way home, mommy talked to me alot; I couldn't understand english at that time, but I liked the sound of her voice. After going through a few names, she settled on Dahlia. She said the spots on my chest were Dalmation-like, but she also wanted to acknowlege my black parts, so while pronouncing "Dal", "Dah", "Dahl", she hit upon Dahlia and decided to go with it cuz of The Black Dahlia. But she calls me a lot of other names, too, like 'Snoot Face', 'Fuzzy Butt', 'Mooch Head', and sometimes 'Shadow'. And I think pappy wants me to wear clothes cuz he calls me things like 'Moocher McMoochy-Pants' and 'McStealy-Face Pants' when I take stuff that I find.

So anyhow, once we got home, she showed me my dish and some paper, but I didn't know what to do with it, then. Now I do, but I mostly go outside...Anyhow, once home, I cried some cuz I missed my old family, but mommy made sure to comfort and love on me alot. I also met Cinnamon, who is mommy's grandkitty, but Cin now lives with Jasmine, my flesh-sister, back in Ohio.

Not too long after mommy got me, she took me to get a check-up and shots. I hated that, though. At least she hasn't fixed me yet; she said she doesn't believe in fixing pets until they have at least one litter cuz she wouldn't have wanted anyone to take away her ability to have children (but she did get fixed after having Jasmine). And since she has people who'd want puppies, she could be sure they'll go to good homes when that time comes.

After a few months, me and mommy moved to Chicago. Boy, that was a looong trip, but mommy made sure to stop every couple of hours so I could go. In Chicago, we stayed with her cousin for a few months, then we moved to our own place, so it was just mommy and me. Then pappy got with mommy and he moved in about 2 years ago, so now it's us three.

During the day, pappy works from home and since she's not working right now, me and mommy "chill" in the living room, on the couch. I sit right by her side all day and follow her around wherever she goes, including the potty - what a weird thing that is...but anyhow, I love living with mommy and pappy so much. I even take mommy for walks every day (she thinks she walks me, but that's not it) and I've also trained them to share their leftovers with me. They say I'm "spoilt" all the time and I guess I am...I also used to sleep in the bed with mommy, when it was just me and her, but pappy stopped that, so now I just sleep on the floor by their bed.

Mommy has also teached me to sit and stay and lie down. Pappy's trying to teach me to shake, but it hasn't taken so far.

Oh, and I LOVE it when company comes. I wag and wag and wag my tail and sniff them all over! And when they sit down, I sit in their lap, if they let me. Fortunately, mommy and pappy's friends are cool like that; mommy says she'd have to teach me not to do that if they weren't. So I'm glad they have good friends like that.

And I'm SO smart, too. Not to ring my own bell, but mommy and pappy say that all the time. I admit, I have learned a lot of english in the last 5 and a-half years since I came to be with mommy. And I observe and learn stuff, too. Like, when mommy starts getting dressed, I know she's going outside and I start whining cuz she might leave me. But then when she gets the leash, I get so excited, I just jump all around and can hardly contain myself. But when she leaves me, I cry cuz I don't like it. I mean, pappy's cool and I LOVE his tummy rubs, but he's no mommy.

But the BEST thing is when I steal socks and stuff. Mommy and pappy don't like it, so they often bribe me to get me to let them go, so that means treats for me; they don't know that I'm onto that trick and I won't tell, so ssshhhh. But I think mommy may be getting smart, cuz now she'll sometimes get my leash and head for the door, so I'll let the sock or whatever go, but then we don't go anywhere! I hate when mommy tricks me like that!...I also learned how to open the 'fridge, but mommy and pappy blocked it, so now I can't get in it. Boo for that!

But I think the best thing for mommy is interpreting for me. I mean, she spends a LOT of the day speaking for me, in a baby voice, like she's saying what she imagines I'm saying. Pappy loves it, though, so she keeps going. And often, it's exactly what I'm feeling or thinking, too! I don't know how she does that. But if you wanna know what I mean, mommy has a video of me on Youtube. You can go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ojxKVdvGtI&t=5s

to see it and then you'll see how she does.

Are you still there? ... Thank you for reading about me and mommy and pappy. If you like us, let mommy know and one of us can do more Dahl stories on occasion.

Bye-bye for now. Woof woof!