the midnight dog

Just over a year ago, Joel tricked me into getting a puppy. He did it by taking me to the pet store and showing me, live and in person, the black lab/rottweiller puppies that had just arrived. They were seven weeks old. The smallest, cutest one came right up and cuddled with me. And then we went home and the smallest, cutest puppy came home with us too. Clever Joel. He knew I wouldn't be able to resist a puppy.

We named her Penny, as in Penny Lane (the Beatles song). When we first brought her home she got really upset and cried a lot, and the Beatles calmed her down, making her, obviously, a very cool puppy in addition to being cute. I hate to admit this, but I almost immediately regretted bringing her home, though, because the first two nights we had her she cried THE WHOLE ENTIRE TIME. Which is understandable, but still. It drove me crazy. And either Penny has continuously improved or I have just stayed crazy, because now I love her and can't imagine not having her.

Originally I didn't want to have a dog because I work more than half the week at home, trying my darndest to be a writer/artist of sorts, and I was afraid a dog would be a distraction. As it turns out, she's not nearly as distracting as other things (like my blog, haha) and she's actually been good for my lifestyle because she forces me to go outside several times a day. She keeps me company. She makes me laugh. She weighs 65 pounds and still likes to sit on my lap. She plays fetch all day long with whatever we're willing to throw. She loves the snow in the winter and swimming in the summer. She is so dark that when I take her outside at night, she looks like a shadow against the snow. She'll give you five and plays hide and seek.

She is the glorious, enthusiastic and lovable Midnight Dog. What would Princess Sunshine be without her?