Nothing, and I mean nothing beats a nap on the couch when your livingroom is cool and dark, and you have a puppy blanket. :) Yesterday I took a long nap and both dogs were sacked out with me. It was so nice. I can't imagine life without dogs. I grew up with them and loved them, but when I moved away from home and started apartment living, I couldn't have one. My husband was raised with dogs, too, and had to give his away when we got married and he moved into my apartment in 1992. For years we rented and just enjoyed our two cats; since we couldn't have dogs, the subject never really came up too much.

When we bought our house in 1999, talk of dogs ensued. We held off, though, not wanting the responsibility of a dog: the walking, the extra pet hair, having to find someone to watch them if you went out of town, etc. But we finally got the itch in 2000 and answered an ad in the local paper regarding puppies. As it turns out, their mother is the dog we fell in love with. Her pups, four months old, were backwards and terribly shy. Sarah, on the other hand, was a bundle of happy friendship. The family raised beagles, but had too many other dogs and needed to find homes some; after a brief exchange of words, said we could take her home. According to her owners, she's the result of a chow-chow getting to one of their beagle bitches. Looking at her, you can see the beagle, but the chow is questionable; if anything, she looks like a small version of a lab, with more beagley ears. She's all gold, save a white toe, and her muzzle's now greying.

We were amazed that she does not run away; if we're working out in the yard, she finds a sunny spot and is content to just sit there, contemplative and sleepy. Her one vice is her complete obsession with squirrels. We call her Vibro-Dog when she sees a squirrel outside the window and starts shaking and shuddering in her excitement. At times, she shudder so hard her teeth chatter, LOL! We used to have the head of our bed up against the window, but after too many mornings awakening to the shuddering of Vibro-Dog at our heads, we moved the bed so she has to be at the foot to see out the window. Better yet, we close the blinds so she has no temptations at all.

Up next: Emma Ada Riblet. :)