2006 was the year of the dog – in the Chinese calendar and in my life. First, my roommate got a greyhound. My two elderly cats passed away – Pam in Dec. 2005, then Bertie in March 2006. The end of an era! I still do find stray bits of cat hair and kitty litter. The roommate moved away, and in Sept 2006 I got Guinness – an adorable long-haired dachshund -- he was then 9 months old (born on Jan. 4, 2006). I got him through Rosie's daughter, Ariela – he belonged to her boss, who found she didn’t have time for a puppy. I got a real dose of puppy behavior as he chewed through the computer cords (crashing the hard drive – luckily he wasn't a fried hot-dog!) and even my breast prosthesis (Mmm, yummy silicone!!)
Now he's almost 2 and much calmer. But, still I contemplate on the profound change of going from being a "cat person" for 17 years to being a "dog person." Maybe it's something like having a sex change – I really relate to the world in a different way, people who never looked at me before are so friendly and engaging!
