THE "RAT"

For the next coupla weeks, I'm Rat-sitting.  No, no, no - it has nothing to do with my gopher count, which by the way is up to 15 - did you notice?  Five more and I get a black belt in gopher kwan do.  No, my dears, I mean THIS RAT -

This little Rat belongs to my daughter, Princess.  Princess is taking finals this week and next week, and I was  finnagled into rat-sitting for the duration.  Princess called me yesterday when she went back to college and said she really slept well, and it was quiet.  The RAT likes to bark, and loves to play with her "mommy" there at college. "Mommy" is usually busy, so Rat gets into stuff and does really mischievious things to get attention.  Here's the RAT in her fairy princess outfit for Halloween. OOOOO!  Isn't she scarey???

The Rat is a merle Pomeranian and her real name is Bella, but she's such a pill and she reminds me of a little grey rat, hence, I call her Rat.  It's actually kind of stuck. (don't think Princess likes that name tho...)

Here's a saucy grin. You can tell she's just plotting some kind of sneaky activity "Oh what can I do next!!!"

It's like having a little bitty powerful cyclone in the house. And you can bet there's a trail of destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Rat!

She generally wears this cheeky expression most of the time.  She has a game called Gladiator Dog & has a couple of stuffed animals that she slings around in the air and growls like a big dog! I'm sure she's thinking she's ripping their bellies open and their guts are spilling out all over the floor. She loves the applause and the standing ovation.  She likes to use them as pillows.  She likes her chewy bones, and she LOVES to torment our chihuahua, Bug. 

Bug likes to lay on the couch and Rat comes up to the edge and just looks at her and wags her tail.  Bug's lips curl back, the ears go back, and the growling and barking start.  Rat takes off through the house with Bug in high pursuit.  Then she'll turn and face Bug, and they start mock-fighting and biting and growling and Bug's hair is standing up on her back. Tony and I yell for peace and quiet.  We usually have to separate these two because the Rat won't leave Bug alone for one minute.

Here're some shots of Rat in the pasture on the farm this past weekend.  She's very cute isn't she?  Kinda reminds me of one of those big fat spotted ticks.  She DID look like a fat hairy tick when she was a puppy.

Monday night when I was giving Tony a haircut, Rat found and destroyed into a million zillion pieces Tony's headphones for his computer.  Just like a child, if we hear (rather don't hear) her get quiet, you can pretty much bet she's into something. Worse than a two-year-old.  She loves to get into people's dirty laundry - socks, underwear, t-shirts, kleenexes, toilet paper, Q-tips, trash, you name it.  She eats everything she can get in her mouth - paper, pens, pencils, combs, coins, paper plates, Coke boxes, etc. If we were to do an X-ray of her stomach, no tellin' what we'd find.

Rat has some power struggle issues as to who is in charge.  Oh she minds me - she knows I'm an alpha female. I've had enough dogs to know how to get my bluff in early. The Rat thinks Princess is her litter mate, therefore, the Rat thinks SHE's in charge of their relationship.  Maybe it'll do her some good to stay with me for a while?  Princess is going to have to take charge.

Here she is in her Christmas finery.  Amazingly, she's left her elf collar on and hasn't bothered it.  I'm actually quite pleased with how she's avoided ruining the new Christmas tree up to now. But it's only been 3 days.  I think she just hasn't noticed it yet OR that there are some balls hanging within her reach. Hope I haven't spoken too soon!  Bite my tongue!

Princess informed me this weekend that when she gets into nursing school next fall, guess where Rat needs to stay so she can devote 24-7 to her studies?