Happiness is a warm puppy...

I will be the first to admit, I wasn't looking forward to having 'her' around when 'her' was just an idea and not an actual, living, breathing lifeform. We had puppies in the past. We used to foster greyhounds. And, they would all cry during the night. And, I don't do well with little sleep.

But my wife wanted another dog so she could continue to show. And, has wanted one for the past year or so. We have had 'discussions' about it. She found the breeder. We decided on the date to bring her home. And, last Saturday was the date. So, I braced myself for a trying time.

Now, my wife knows I am all bluster. I will hem and haw about having the dog and tell her that she, not me, will need to take care of her. But, in the end, she knows I will love this dog as I do our other dogs. And, when you don't have children, the paternal instincts are still there to take care of the ones under your roof.

Her name is Ellie Mae. She is a Havanese. And, she is a good little girl. She is bold. She has no problems with stealing the toys from the 'boys' right from under their noses. She jumps in the pile when they are wrestling. She sleeps through the night. And, her and I get up together around 5a, when she starts crying, to play so as not to disturb my wife and her 'brothers' while they sleep.

Ellie Mae is only 14 weeks old. She will shown for the first time in August. Her father won 'Best of Breed' at the National Show that was seen on television last Thanksgiving.

Running is an important part of my life. But, Eric from the blog, 'Running for my life' (http://ruralrunnere.blogspot.com/) reminded me, it's not everything. The more things you do outside of running, the more fun running will be. And, though, I didn't want Ellie Mae to begin with when she was just 'another dog', she has been a lot of fun since we've had her in our lives.