Andy

After years of fawning over small furry animals to an almost unhealthy degree, and ignoring all sound fiscal reason, we have finally taken the plunge and acquired a puppy.

Meet Lady Dulcinea Andromache.  We call her Andy, by my sister's recommendation.  She's a three-month-old purebred miniature poodle, but will probably only reach toy size.  She's a money pit already, but she's exactly what we wanted - an intelligent, hypoallergenic, non-shedding portable dog.  It's hard to find a rescue when we're that particular.

We've had her since Saturday afternoon, and since then we've made considerable progress in house-breaking, crate training, and leash walking.  We finally got some treats today, and within a few minutes she had grasped the basic concept of "sit."  She literally never barks.  She sleeps during car rides.  Did I mention she was non-shedding?  Grooming will be an issue, though, as she has a real problem with standing still.  All in all, she seems like she definitely has the potential to become the clean, mannerly, unobjectionable canine companion we had in mind.  How can you object to a dog who doesn't bark, jump, shed, smell, or soil the carpet?  Well, we're still working on the carpet part.  But three accidents in as many days isn't bad for a baby like her.

She's a keeper.