N.A.S.H.A. waits until the littles have asked me for ten things in a row. She lets me sit down for precisely fifteen seconds, and then she punches me in the leg. Usually. Sometimes, if she really wants something, she doesn't wait for me to sit down. She waits until my knees are locked, and then she punches me right in the sweet spot, giving me a dead-leg like I've never had. The girl only weighs eleven pounds, so it's not about heft, but about perfection of the skill. She has absolutely perfected it. This happens on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times in a day.

But this morning, she took it to a whole new level. Not only did I have my knees locked, but I was taking that sweet first sip of my piping hot coffee. BAM! All over my face and PJs. (Don't worry, I'm okay. It wasn't that hot.) And then she sat down, mocking me.

Does your dog ever do this to you, or am I the only moron that responds to it by giving her the treat she's asking for, reinforcing the behavior not only with my attention but with food? Because it's so cute and smart that she knows how to ask for a treat. She has trained me well.

The other day, our one-year-old sulcata tortoise, Fluffy, was enjoying some lettuce on the patio. I think watching him eat is like watching a dinosaur. He's just so cool. So I took a video for posterity. Check out how awesome he is: [wpvideo k6zMKvIZ]

Fluffy is too young and small to be outside by himself for a length of time, so I often go out with him. Like a rebellious teen, he's old enough to want to be out A LOT and past his curfew, so I can't always watch him every second. If I lose track of him, I ask N.A.S.H.A. to "find Fluffy!" She's great at sniffing him out. The unlikely pair get along really well. He doesn't even pull inside his shell when she approaches. That means love. They are buds. She's always been the mothering type, so it doesn't surprise me that she's taken him under her wing.

I took another video.

I didn't realize that N.A.S.H.A. was in the background until I watched it back. N.A.S.H.A. is a mixed terrier in every way, and she often alerts to things outside. Maybe a rabbit hopping through the yard, a lizard rustling through the bushes, or a teenager walking home from the high school down the street. I find it completely fascinating how Fluffy completely plays off N.A.S.H.A.'s cues.

[wpvideo AnU6gT8H]

I stopped recording because he stopped eating. Immediately after I stopped, N.A.S.H.A. started barking her head off, and Fluffy pulled into his shell. I find it amazing that he knew something was up just by her body language before she even let out the alarm. He's much more intuitive than I am.

They bonded the day they met. Two small critters against the world.