Announcing

Please welcome the newest member of my little family. Her name is Lyra. She is a yellow lab, german shepherd mix. She looks a lot like a dingo and if she could flap her ears I swear she could take flight. She's around 45 pounds and is basically full grown (not very huge, which is odd considering the breeds she's mixed with...she must have been the runt). She's about a year old and she is the sweetest, gentlest dog I've ever met. She loves to play but when it's time to sleep, it's time to sleep. She's the best apartment dog on earth. Sammy and Monkey love her. Monkey was quite skeptical for the first few days but he's now understanding Lyra is about as much of a threat as a sweet potato. Sammy loves her and especially loves stalking her tail. She's also met Jeff's dog, Roland, and they quickly became best friends.

She's still figuring out what life is like outside the apartment (she had accidents at Jeff's place last weekend) but I'm sure the more stability and routine she has, the better she'll get. It's clear to me, and the people from whom I adopted her, that she was pretty severely abused as a pup. She was also quite malnourished but she's rapidly puttingon some good weight and seems to feel really good. We'll start some training in the next week, which I know will help with her confidence and trust issues. She's extremely affectionate and just wants to be loved!!

I can't wait for my family to meet her, she's a wonderful dog and after we do some more training, she's going to be a great addition to our huge clan! It's a bummer she can't come to vacation, I know she'd have a fabulous time, but such is the way of the world. She was a birthday present, and one of the best I've ever had! (don't worry, she wasn't a surprise, I would never bring a pet into my household without lots of preparation before bringing her home).

Other than this, things are about the same. Work is work, kids are awesome and weird and I just last week signed another year lease where I'm living. I realized this is the longest I've stayed in one apartment in about 6 or 7 years. Roots? Not quite, but it's better than renting a truck. :)