Well, so much for that thought that I would be posting more often. I really did think about it a lot but it was the puppy's fault. Since I last posted we have acquired our new pup, Shea, and our lives have unpredictably changed. I personally really did forget how much work it was to do the whole puppy thing and this was exacerbated by the 3000 inches of snow we had during those formative house training weeks. Shea is more than we could have expected. She is soooo sweet though trying in the ways a curious puppy can be. She is unable to distinguish between say a rope toy chew thing and a pair of expensive shoes. She learned early on to ring some bells on the back door to let us know when she needs to go out, the word 'need' being misunderstood. Our idea of 'need' is to go to the bathroom, her idea is everything else. She has learned how to fake pee to get a treat, how to clean up discarded mice left by the cat, and is currently working on a tunnel which will be a short cut to China. On my way to the next life I will have, I will be certain to ask some all knowing entity why dogs have to spend so much time looking for the right place to poop and what really is the smell on THAT spot that says to the dog,"Oh yeah, here's a good spot to leave this!" As much work as it is to train this dog, we know that we will be rewarded tenfold by this animal. We already get some return for our investment as she is beginning to show signs of a Golden Retriever's natural instinct to please us. I am not sure if will be the last puppy I will be involved with in this life but if it is, I have won.
