This and That

Several months ago our family lost a long time member and friend. Bo was as much a part of this family as any of us, and losing him so suddenly to an aggressive mast cell tumor was devastating. We miss him very, very much. It wasn't long before the kids started asking for a new dog, and I was surprised to realize that I was ready much sooner than I anticipated. And so we found ourselves on a hunt for new furry friend for our family.

Bo was huge, so walks in the neighborhood meant having to choose between the kids and the dog, and far too often he got left at home. Not to mention the sheer physical space a 95 lb dog occupies in the house. He was fantastic with the kids, but an inadvertent misstep was toe crushing. That in mind, this time we thought we'd like something a little smaller, but still sturdy. Not shedding a fur-baby every few days was another entry on the wish-list. Most of all, I just wasn't sure that any other Golden Retriever would ever live up to the memory of such a remarkable dog as Bo.

The breed that seems to fit all our criteria is the Scottish Terrier, and so I started reading about Scotties. As one of the oldest breeds in the AKC registry, it's even more important to buy from a reputable breeder to avoid congenital issues. I made some contacts and did some networking, and I'm happy to say that we have found our new puppy.

Miss Maggie (a good sturdy Scottish name) is a black female Scottish Terrier bred from two American Major Champions, and is every bit as Scottie as they come. She'll be coming home on my birthday in a few weeks. We're super excited, and we're already planning a little brother for her, we'll name him Wallace (after none other than William Wallace of course), in a year or two.

In other less exciting news nurseXX and I have started a C25K program, and I'm really hoping it sticks. Because quite frankly I'm tired of being fat. It was a post by my friend Running Wildly that really motivated me to get off my duff and try this. I've only done the first workout of the first week, but it went much better than I expected which was nice for once. There seems to be much success around this particular program, so that's encouraging. Our best couple-friends have been running together for about a year now, and it will be fun to register for some races together.

Believe it or not, I was actually quite the runner in high school, running track and cross country. I was middle distance runner and wasn't too shabby. But now that I'm so flabby, things are looking a little different. You should hear the treadmill whine (and grumble, ha!)--not exactly what John Parr had in mind I'm sure--but I'm definitely a man in motion...