After a year and a half of living without any pets (well, other than the spiders in our yard and occasionally in our house) we finally decided to find a new companion. We've finished moving in and the remodeling is "mostly" done, so we won't have to worry about those issues.

About the time we made the decision and were starting to talk about checking the rescue shelters, we learned that Pam's uncle (John) owned a pair of English Springer Spaniels, and the dame was due in a few weeks. So we took a look at the parents-to-be. This was a big mistake, or maybe not. In any case, I quickly realized that we wouldn't be adopting a dog, and would instead buy one of the pups. Then, in a gesture of familial generosity, John decided to make the pup a Christmas present to Pam. (There were eight pups in the litter, four of each, all very healthy.)

So the week of Thanksgiving we brought home an energetic spaniel puppy. I suppose energetic and puppy are redundant, but that's a point that can't be over-emphasized. (We considered taking in her litter-mate too — don't ask — but we came to our senses and just have the one.)

We've been to puppy classes and it seems to help, but I'll sure be glad when she settles down and becomes a little calmer. (They do settle down, don't they? Please say yes.)

We've found that Sadie likes her "dot." We started with a cheap laser-pointer, but a decent flashlight will work just as well. Trying to follow and catch it will send her into a kind of hyper-excited play. I'm still at a loss to understand why, maybe its the same thing that makes greyhounds chase that rabbit.