Damn It! I think I kind of like the dog.

I believe I actually uttered those words last Saturday, while I was cuddling with Alley on the kitchen floor. She thinks she's a lap dog, but already doesn't really fit into mine, and I'm curious about how this will pan out when she weighs 70 pounds. We had a lovely Valentine's Day, up at 6am with a whimpering puppy, but a lazy morning on the couch filled with phone conversations with family and a yummy waffle breakfast. We took Alley to Greenlake, a popular area to walk in Seattle. It was VERY busy with people and lots of other dogs, sensory overload for a puppy, but everyone just thought she was so adorable and kept stopping us to ask about her. About 2 miles into the 2.8 miles around the lake, I felt a sudden strange tug on the leash that was trailing behind me, and turned around to see Alley LAYING DOWN, back puppy paws sprawled out behind her, in the middle of the busy trail, with everyone else giggling at Jon and I hysterically. I guess she was tired. Jon had to carry her 25+ pounds the rest of the way! The good news is that she was pretty tuckered out after that, so we were able to enjoy making an artichoke appetizer, beef wellington, squash, and chocolate fondue and strawberries, plus a great bottle of wine from our Napa honeymoon to celebrate our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife.

We've had a good couple of weeks. Alley is truly a sweet dog. She loves to cuddle and has beautiful puppy dog eyes and droopy ears that when she cocks her head to the side will just melt your heart. She is asking to go out and pottying in the backyard almost all the time. She settles down and doesn't cry through the night, and she definitely has "sit" down, even if she doesn't know any other command. A Sprite can filled with coins has been the noise that has helped us get her to stop biting us, which may have saved her from getting kicked back onto the streets last Thursday when I was pretty fed up. Alley loves to play with all of her toys, and she's pretty good at fetch in the backyard already. Many areas still need improvement, like walking on a leash...in one direction, without lagging, pulling, stopping. etc. Alley will be goind to her first day of Puppy Kindergarten, a six week obedience class, next Saturday. I can't wait!

Today's my day off, and we were up at 5am with the whimpering dog, and we were out of coffee beans. I'm hoping for a nap before the weekend begins with a ski trip with Jon's company tonight, dinner with a family from church tomorrow, and work on Sunday morning and then guests at our place for the Oscars.

It's quiet...I gotta go see what the puppy is destroying!