Getting to know you...

It's official - Gromit has become our baby! We love him so much and he has brought such great joy to our lives in the last few days. We are all settling into our new routine and Gromit seems to be getting more comfortable in his new home. We're working hard to teach him his name, how to sit, the command "go potty", to stay in his crate when we're at work and to only get on the couch when his blanket is on there. Once he masters these tasks we'll work on some more exciting things like fetch.

He isn't too interested in toys or balls yet but we think as he gets more comfortable here he will begin to play more. He's had a few visitors come over since his arrival and we've found that he LOVES people and will do whatever he can to get you to rub his belly. We took a trip to meet my family yesterday and they fell in love with him too. Joy (my parent's dog) had the opportunity to greet Gromit in her own special way by literally "butting" his head into the couch, but once they got familiar with each other they got along well.

Gromit and Joy on the couch

I think Joy likes having her belly rubbed too

All in all things are going well here. We're so happy Gromit is adjusting to his new home and we hope that he'll be happy with us because we are sure happy with him!

Okay, I just HAD to get him a little shirt!

I think Dave is mocking the dog...

Comfy in his new bed!

Welcome Home, Gromit!

We've been mulling over this decision for months now. We weighed the positives and the negatives. We re-worked our budget to see if it would work - then to make it work. We researched, asked questions and found out everything we could to make the best decision for us and others involved. We thought about it and thought about it and thought about it and finally made a decision...

Meet our newest family member, Gromit!



Gromit is a 2-year-old male West Highland White Terrier (Westie) who is full of energy and loves to have his belly rubbed. He was a stray picked up by animal control and then put up for adoption when nobody came to claim him.

We had been researching Westies and even found a litter of them born recently in a town nearby. After deciding that we didn't have enough time to properly care for a new puppy we came to the conclusion that we would look at shelters and rescues to find an adult dog that would love to sleep all day and play with us all evening and on weekends. After weeks of searching these organizations we came across this scruffy dog (not believing that we actually found a Westie in a shelter) and had to go meet him. We fell in love with him immediately and knew we were going to take him home.

After a weekend of shopping and getting our home ready for him we were finally able to pick him up today to welcome him to his new home and his new family! We're so glad he's here!

Gromit came to work with me for a little while today.
He helped himself to my lap and made himself comfortable.

I think we wore him out! Right now he's asleep on the floor right next to his crate
(which he hasn't fully explored yet).

What happened to Spring?

On Saturday and Sunday it was so nice outside! It was about 72 degrees and I was able to enjoy my weekend with the windows and back door wide open, letting in some glorious fresh, Spring air.

Today it was about 30 degrees and as of right now there are 8 inches of snow on the ground and it's still coming down. The food bank closed at 11:00 because of the blizzard-like conditions and we're not re-opening until at least 10:00 tomorrow morning so that all employees, volunteers and clients have a safe drive in. Even Dave's lab closed at noon!

All afternoon I've been curled up on the couch in my living room with Dave playing video games while a nice roaring fire is being kept up in the fireplace. After dinner I'm looking forward to some hot chocolate and a good movie while cuddling with my hubby. Maybe it's OK that fireplace and hot chocolate season isn't over quite yet...

Dilbert does it again

Today's Dilbert comic reflects a situation that has happened to me in the last two days... and has happened numerous times in the past. How does he know so much about my life?!?

Should we get a dog?

We've been seriously thinking about getting a dog. Dave is gone (not gone, but at work for 12+ hours a day and usually late into the evening and on weekends) a lot of the time and I would definitely love to have a happy, loving presence around when I would normally come home to an empty apartment and just to keep me company when I am home alone. I would also love to have a little dog to go walking/jogging with as the weather gets warmer and I continue to lose weight. But as much as we both want a dog around the house, we face some interesting obstacles...

• We live in an apartment so we want to make sure we get a breed that doesn't need a lot of room to run around or need too much exercise since we both work during the day
• Would a dog be ok hanging around the apartment while we are at work all day? Is it fair to the dog that we can't always be around?
  
• We do like to go camping and hiking during the summer so we want a breed that would enjoy and be able to physically handle those activities with us
• We don't know where we'll end up after Dave graduates with his PhD. Would it be a huge hassle to move out of the state or even to another country with a dog? Will it be harder to find another place to live in an unfamiliar location that accepts pets? If we do move, where would the dog stay when we come to visit our family in Colorado?
• How expensive would a dog really be? Food, toys, little outfits and vet visits I'm sure add up very quickly
  
• We know there is a need to adopt dogs in a shelter but because of the circumstances listed above we need to be more picky with the breed we choose to make sure we can provide a good home. Since we're so picky, should we even get a dog?
  

Obviously we are still working out the details and trying to decide whether or not this is a good time in our lives to get a dog. In the mean time, I enjoy looking at different breeds to see what might be good for us and I have fallen in love with Wee-chons; a mix of a West Highland White Terrier and a Bichon Frise. Check them out!