Puppy Love

Our sweet lab, Haley, has been an amazing dog for our family. We got her one month before we conceived K, P, & R. Her puppy years were sort of a fog between the shock of triplet pregnancy, months of bedrest and three newborns. She spent her fair share of time on a nearby farm getting more gun dog training than she will ever need while we got a handle on parenting human babies.

Despite our dicey start Haley has mellowed into a terrific companion and playmate. K & P are especially attached to her these days. In the early Summer K entered her in a Pet Trick competition. Last month P was convinced he had taught her to read.

Haley's always good for cuddling, fetch and assorted other activities-- even occasionally serving as an audience for magic tricks.

In celebration of her birthday last month, the kids decided what our old girl would really like is a puppy--"to play with while they are at school." My husband & I had been pondering it for a while, so their suggestion was the final push for our decision.

So, despite my claim that we would never have more pets than children, the count is about to be at 4:3 (2 cats, 2 dogs, 3 kids). This morning we met the newest member of our family, Sugar.

 She is sweet as her name would indicate.

 The children giggled

 and grinned nonstop in her presence. (I wish there were a soundtrack to accompany these shots.)

This guy is quite fond of her too.

 

And although I have felt genuinely excited about adopting her, when I downloaded this picture I realized it might have snapped a small glimpse of my subconscious!

I have never had much of a poker face. :-)

Luckily, Sugar has a few weeks of training to go before we bring her home. This should give my head, heart, attitude and facial expressions a chance to get in sync!