I’m grateful I got to meet the new puppy in the neighborhood today. After sufficient time to grieve the loss of dear, departed Rocky, and giving a lot of thought and doing a lot of research, his mom has found a new canine companion. As with all dogs who come to us after the death of a great dog, this dog will not replace Rocky in her heart or in any of our hearts. He will instead bring his own unique brand of joy and personality to her and to our community.

Up little bear! Up! He’s very short and just a little bit pudgely, and he can’t jump high enough for a lap yet, but he’s happy for a hand up. At not quite ten weeks old, he already has the gigantic digging paws of his breed, Norfolk terrier.

He was sweet and very agreeable to cuddling with me for awhile, but then he wanted his mommy. She calls him Oso, and he already knows his new name and comes to it when he’s called.

After playtime and a very wiggly visit he was ready for a nap. Because he’s so young and hasn’t had all his shots yet, he’s not allowed to meet any other dogs for awhile, because of the risk of parvovirus, another damn virus, one that puppies are especially susceptible to. So Wren stayed home. When I returned, her usual bouncy greeting stopped abruptly after the second bounce when she smelled the puppy on my pants. She can hardly wait to meet her little cousin!

Speaking of Wren, her brown eye seems almost completely healed. I can’t quite tell, because this eye has always been a little weepy, and squinted a bit more than her blue eye. She’s still getting antibiotic drops for a few more days until they run out, and may need a follow-up at the vet next week. Fingers crossed she will continue to improve and not need any invasive investigation. We’ll know more later. Even though she’s almost a grown lady at three and a half going on four, she’ll always be my little girl. I’m grateful for puppies.