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March 9, 2008 :: We call her Ollie.

The wait is over. Operation puppy, 2008 has commenced, and oh, the cuteness. I'm sure this is kind of like what people always say about their children - that they're hands-down the cutest, but dude, this dog is more adorable than any animal that's ever snuffled my neck and then snuggled in for a nap. As you can see from the picture, she's got this look in her eyes--sleepy, engaged, pure oozy emotional warfare. You must love me, it screams. And Blake and I have totally bought it. Even as she chews on our fingers with little needly teeth and tumbles all over the house as if she's made of bean-bags.

Housetraining is going ok. Leash training is a bit like enticing a brick to follow you because you're holding its favorite food. And crating has been, so far, much easier than expected. (I've never had a dog that treated their crate as anything but pure torture, but Ollie slips in and out of hers all day, and hardly says a peep at bedtime.)

Not sure yet how smart she is (though she's caught on to her name and "outside" in under 48 hours), not sure what she'll be like as she settles in to a new home already occupied by cat (indifferent) and older dog (interested, but cranky). I am pretty sure however, that she's going to be a big girl when she's grown.

At 10 weeks, she's about 15 pounds, and all muscle.

Well, I guess when she's all grown up, we'll have little to worry about with regard to home invasions. I wouldn't want a 65-pound white demon of a bulldog baring down on me, at least.