Proud Mommy!

Zelda Bell's Birthday is today...she's 1! I waited to introduce her on here because her birthday was getting so close and today it came! I'm going to share quite a few photos with you right now because she has been such a GIGANTIC presence in my life for the past year. She is spoiled rotten-more than my own kids could have every dreamed of being. Zelda is a blue doberman. I know you most likely haven't heard of a "blue" doberman before...probably only of a black or red one. Well, not only are there blues out there-there are fawns too. I think both types are to die for! Adorable creatures!!! Dobermans have a terrible wrap, but they are the sweetest family dogs in the world! They are loyal too!! Don't get me wrong...they look fierce and can be if need be...but their main goal in life, if trained right, is to live up to all their owners expectations without fail. Check out some photos of other dobermans here. Check out more on this breed of dogs and why they are perfectly safe for you and your family here.

So...the following are photos from the first few months of her little life. More recent ones to come...when they're taken.

This one was from the night we brought her home-12 weeks old. We didn't name her for over a week. We thought of Ginger, Delilah, Queen Rhonda & some others, but ended up with Zelda Bell. Zelda means grey-haired warrior princess so maybe that explains some of why we picked it over the other names. It didn't quite fit her when she was a little cute pup...but now that she is bigger it serves her well. She used to lay down and fall asleep like this-she wouldn't move at all...even if you tried to wake her.

She was constantly confused with a weimaraner before her beautiful ears were cropped. You can see how that mistake was made just by looking at this next photo of her.

My absolute favorite photo of us together-you know baby & mommy! So what if I'm not her real mommy-I feel like I am! Oh...and this was a self portrait! lol

Ah...this day is a day I remember very clearly. Zelda's 1st time in our swimming pool at home. She was a riot! She was so scared. She had went completely under and this photo was of her just as she popped up and gasped for air. I had been hearing stories from everybody around me about Dobermans dying from drowning...something about their upper body being too heavy for them to lift out from the side of a pool on their own. We were trying to help her learn where the steps were in our pool so if she ever fell in she would know how to safely get out. She was scared of the pool for a long time after this episode. Don't worry...her fear of water has subsided-she loves her showers even climbed in my bath the other day. She's fascinated with bubbles!

My all time favorite photo of Zelda period! Isn't she gorgeous?
Look at the paws on her! We knew we'd be in for it when she grew up.And then she was changed forever. Yes, I felt bad about it-still do so back off with the "how could you" drama! Seriously...it was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sad to watch her be in pain. I don't recommend cropping. :( This photo was during the "cone" week right after surgery. You can even see the stitches on her ear in the photo. Oh...and our training her in the pool...it turned out to be a smart idea because the first day home from surgery Zelda accidentally fell in the spa-all the way under too. I know-I was going insane. I wasn't far from her and saved her as quick as I could. I think she was dizzy from the meds wearing off. I called her doc and he said she'd be okay even though the ears got wet. The chlorine would kill any bateria. Oh my-we've been through a lot with this girl.

Onto the wrapping of the ears stage. Once weekly for months and months and months because 1 ear didn't want to cooperate-still doesn't cooperate full time.

Just a photo to show how teeny tiny this little sweetheart was to begin with.Those ears looking pretty good, but only staying up for a couple hours at a time on that one stubborn side.More wrapping...It seemed endless & pointless! She was 8 or 9 months old in this photo. You are probably noticing a difference in her coloring by now. She started getting darker around this age. People don't know what color she is. They're always coming up to me and asking is she black or red or tan or what? It's funny. Everybody recognizes that she is a doby, but nobody knows what color. I hear people whispering about her...that must be the feeling movie stars have to go through. At least everybody is saying how beautiful she is-at least when I hear them! :)

More another time...I've got to go cuddle up with the birthday girl for a while! :)