Three Years Later...

My puppy turned five this year! I don't know exactly when her birthday is because she's a rescue / mutt / street dog but it's probably sometime in the summer. Both of these photos are from fall, almost exactly three years apart. A good reminder of how much my hair has grown, but also of how Belle has gotten older!

Here are ways Bell-y has changed over the past three years.

• She has gray hair around her eyes. I didn't notice it until comparing it to the photo from 2009, but she's definitely aged some.

• Belle never wants to sleep in my bed. This is mutually beneficial to both of us.

• Bedtime is much earlier - she likes to be curled up in one of her two beds (spoiled!) by 9 o'clock each night.

• She has a much longer attention span and can sit outside for hours. Especially when she is on the hunt for squirrels. I really need her to address the ground squirrel problem because I'm afraid they are going to come into my house with the dropping temperatures.

• I kind of want her to live forever. So we watch her weight, and she started taking joint supplements. Yep, it's a little before something like that is totally necessary, but I want her to live for-e-ver.

• She listens a little better. This has definitely not improved greatly, and I would like to take an agility class with her! As soon as she greets guests, she normally leaves them alone. Unless that person is smart/dumb enough to rub her belly, then she will never leave their side. And when Erica's husband Jon comes over, she sits perfectly because she adores him. 

• Belle is my favorite. I can't imagine my little house without her, and it's too quiet if we're apart even one night. I love my puppy.