Dixie Belle

Dixie Belle with family members, Charlotte and Trey Buckles, after winning the title of
2010 cutest puppy at Bark in the Park

My name is Dixie Belle and I was adopted on August 11, 2010.  I'm a Shepherd mix puppy. If you look close you can see Shepherd in my face but my "mix" has got to be terrier, possibly Jack Russell.  My mom says I have a LOT of the Shepherd disposition. Maybe so, but I'm just out to make my family happy because I'm really happy they adopted me.  I was about 3 months old when they adopted me and as soon as my family brought me home I knew this was where I wanted to be even if I do have to dress up every now and then for them.  I even let them paint my toenails purple to match my LSU cheerleading outfit for Bark in the Park!  By the way, I won cutest puppy!  

 
Dixie Belle as shelter dog #781

Mom says I'm pretty smart too.  It must be because I have learned lots of tricks over the last few weeks and I'm learning them so fast. Some of them I learned all in one training session!  I can fetch, sit, lay down, stand, speak, shake hands with both my paws on command, give a high five, beg, crawl, roll over, roll over twice….oh, and I know 1+1!! Mom is teaching me how to pray too! After all, I am very thankful I have a happy home. I also "sit" while she puts food in my bowl.  I started that one on my own out of respect.  But as soon as the food goes in my bowl, I chow down! Mom says I'm the smartest dog she has ever had. I must be because she gets really excited when I obey.  I'm not going to tell her yet but it just comes natural and I'm sure she has lots of other tricks up her sleeve to "teach" me.  ;)

Not only do I love my human mom but I love my human brother and sister too.  My brother gives me lots of belly rubs and plays tug of war with me and I shower him with kisses because I love that.  My sister likes me to chase her around and around and crawl all over her when we are playing.  That's fun stuff!  She picks me up a lot and packs me like a baby but I don’t mind because I'm just glad to finally have someone to hold me.  Plus, it won't be long and I will be too big for her to pick up.  So I let her enjoy it while she can.  My human dad is pretty cool too!  He pets me a lot and makes sure I'm happy and safe.  I love all of them so much and I think they can tell because I fit into the family from the very beginning.

When my family first brought me home, they found out I had intestinal parasites.  The doctor said that's pretty common. It was rough though because I didn't want to eat a whole lot and mom said I was starting to look puny.  It took 2 rounds of medicine but I fought them off and I am glad I did because I could see the love and desperation in mom's eyes to get me well every time she gave me my medicine.  I have been a different puppy every since then because I feel so good and I eat better and I'm gaining weight like I should be and getting taller by the day.  They had a chance to take me back to the shelter after finding out I was sick, but they didn't.  Boy am I glad! The real Dixie they brought home to love is now here to stay and I'm ready to PLAY!