I wrote my initial post this morning (as an email to family) before going out to return a couple items that I bought yesterday. While I was out, I decided to make the rounds to some pet store adoption centers. I'm certainly not forgetting Whoop, and cry in a very un-manly fashion when I try to talk about her. However, I've also become quite accustomed to having a dog, and am on vacation this week, which I think will be a big help for getting a new dog settled in. There were some really cute puppies and young dogs the first couple places I went to, but they were all going to be bigger than I want. I had in mind a small to medium (30 pound or less) "lap dog", not a puppy and definitely house-trained, preferably shorter hair than Whoop had, and preferably female.

The third place I went to, PetSmart, only had two adoption dogs, both male, but they were both in the right size. J.R. was a 1-2 year old Jack Russel mix, who was very friendly and the more dynamic of the two; I was seriously tempted by him, but he hurt his chances by marking one of the displays as soon as he got out of his cage. The other dog, named Zuki, was listed as a 2 year old Cavalier Spaniel, but he has a relatively short coat and doesn't have the "wings" on the back of his legs that Whoop had (that tended to get things tangled in them). He failed to make a good impression when he wouldn't get up to be petted, but he perked up when allowed out of the cage, and proved very friendly. He also seemed to be more trustworthy about going inside and had far less nervous energy than J.R. Basically, aside from being male, he was just what I had in mind in size, temperament, and house-broken-ness, so I adopted Zuki who is currently laying down by my foot.