The Dog Days of Autumn

I have gotten myself a puppy. A barking, yipping, whining, piddling, pooping puppy... and I love him! Everyone, meet Nigel the Doxador...


His mother is Ville's Dachshund, Pepper, and his father was a black Labrador. No, Ville had nothing to do with this. The congress, the thought of which makes me shudder and must have been a real feat, took place before she got her.

These photos make him look larger than he is for some reason, he's really pretty small, and web research tells me that he'll grow up to be the size of a Cocker Spaniel. The perfect dog-sized dog!

He loves looking out the front door

Nigel has completely moved in with us in only two days (today is day three). He's terribly intelligent, ridiculously affectionate, and eager to please. At eight weeks of age he's already learning basic obedience commands: No, Come, Nigel, and Ssh. And he came to us piddle-pad trained! We've only had one accident, but that was on his first day when he didn't have a pad nearby.

I haven't had a dog since 2000 when I lost my beloved Fritz, a Yorkie who was my end-all and be-all for years. I'm not sure how I'm going to hold up to the first six months, but love will see us through!

Our happy place