The World According to Bella

“She weighs what? Try it again. You must have made a mistake.” Said Mrs. S

somewhat alarmed.

But Dr. Ekholm’s assistant was confident. “Nope, that’s right, Bella weighs 82 pounds.”

“How can that be?” said Mrs. S. “Bella was just here seven weeks ago for her post surgery check-up and weighed in at 75 pounds. We feed her the same amount of food each day. And at our last  visit Dr. Ekholm complimented Bella on how fit she was.”

Suddenly I got this sinking feeling I was going to get less food. And then I remembered my  boot camp from last year. It was right before Mr. C and Mrs. S left on their trip. Mr. C took me on two walks a day to the dog park to make sure I’d be in good shape for my stay at the dog sitter’s house. It was exhausting! And I got no extra treats.
I was at Dr. Ekholm’s office today for my yearly shots and this was not the news I wanted to hear. I did my best to behave while Dr. Ekhlom poked at me, listened to my heart rate and gave me my shots.

As we were leaving I heard those dreaded words from Dr. Ekholm, "It's not good for Bella to be overweight. Cut back on her food and make sure she is getting lots of exercise. All of that will help." 

As Mr.C paid the bill I couldn't help but notice the big jar of doggie snacks on the counter. I gave them my best tail wag hoping I could get one teeny, tiny milk bone but Mrs. S was firm. "No extra treats for you Bella."  

On the way home all Mr. C and Mrs. S could talk about was my extra seven pounds. They couldn’t figure out how I gained so much weight without extra food. And it was a mystery the past few weeks why I was not devouring my breakfast. Perhaps I was doing too much porch sitting and napping during the day and well into the early evening.

As soon as we got home Mr. C went and got the scale. He didn’t believe the 82 pounds. It was impressive Mr. C could pick me up and stand on the scale. But 82 it was.

Weeks ago Mrs. S gave me an important job. Each time she left Mr. C and me at the lake and drove to the cities to stay for a few days I was instructed to watch over her flowers in the garden and scare off any intruders.  So yes, I do spend a lot of time on the porch on my rug guarding the yard, but I am just following Mrs.S's instructions.

I have a secret that I 'm not going to tell them. Each morning when I go outside to do my business I know where to find extra food. Our neighbors throw some of their garbage out in the woods rather that putting it in a can. Fine by me if they want to be so messy. I’m just doing my part to keep the neighborhood clean.  But I think I 'm going to be busted soon. I heard Mr.C on the phone today ordering a GPS tracker collar for me.  

Love, Bella
PS. Follow this link to see my story in the WWN
http://www.wwnrockport.com/2013/06/the-world-according-to-bella-bellas.html
and check out the new book Mrs. S has requested for me