Today Meatball sits in at the desk for her human, Paulette Jones.   Hello readers and welcome back to the Dotcomdoggies Paw Print Blog.  This is Meatball.  My human, the lady you refer to as Paulette Jones, the same lady that I refer to as “Mom”, seems to be getting a bit lazy.   The immediate evidence is the fact that she hasn’t written the Paw Print Blog for nearly a week now.  But there are other signs of neglect.  It’s been at least three or four days since she took Scooter and me out to the hiking trails.  And last night I sat by the pantry door where the doggie treats are stored for nearly 40 minutes.  She didn’t even glance at me, even when I whimpered and put on my “hungry face”.    She knows that face.  It’s the face that says…”I have never even tasted food.  I don’t know what my teeth are for.  I’m skinny as a toothpick and I’m getting skinnier by the minute.”  She didn’t fall for it like she usually does.   I even laid down on the kitchen floor and pretended to pass out from lack of food.  She snickered at me and mumbled something like … “Don’t try that silly stuff on me.”   So she wants me to go on something she calls a “diet”.  She says I’m something she calls “fat”.  She tells me that being “fat” could be bad for my health.    I don’t care.  I still want some treats.  I deserve some treats and I’m gonna get some treats.   Humans think that they have all the answers to life’s problems.  People push a plumper pup to plummet in pounds.  But I like the way I am.  I think I’m beautiful.  And even my human, my Mom, tells me how beautiful I am when she holds me on her lap and strokes my head and ears.    So, I’ll keep begging for treats until she finally caves in and gives me what I want.  I am pretty sure this strategy eventually pays off because I’ve seen it work before.  I’ve seen her daughters beg, snivel and whine until she finally caves in and gives them what they want.  I’m cuter than they are, so it’s gotta work for me too.  That makes sense, doesn’t it?    Doesn’t it?   Meatball Jones