Poppy, welcome to the Whetter house

Well, we got a dog. From time to time over the past year or so, I've written in Grainews -- the Wheat & Chaff section -- about my family's quest for a pet. Getting a pet is pretty easy. You can usually find a cat or dog at the pound whenever you're ready. But we took our time. It's not that we were picky. Part of the problem is that we couldn't agree on whether to get a cat or a dog. I like cats. They're friendly, to me, and they're easy to take care of. But my wife loves dogs and just doesn't like cats. My boys are happy either way. And I like dogs, too, just not as much as cats. So it was pretty obvious which way we were leaning.

We decided to wait until spring to get our dog. Spring is nicer for walking. We were open to any age of dog, although the younger the better. One that was already housebroken and trained would have been ideal, but then we heard about a litter of newborn puppies. We went to look at them and that was it. We were smitten.

The mother is a boxer-golden retriever cross and the father is a Lab. Ours is a black-haired female. We picked her up today. She's seven weeks old. I've already slapped her under the muzzle a few times to stop her from nipping at people. She peed on the floor within an hour of her arrival. And who knows what this first night will be like. But none of that matters. She's ours and we all love her. I just hope we don't smother her with attention.