 About two months ago, my girlfriend Natalia surprised me with an early valentines Day gift. She had been poking and prodding my brain trying to find out what the perfect gift would be. One day we were having seemingly unrelated conversation about my Golden Retriever, Houston, who died of cancer at the young age of 5, while I was away at college. Not putting two and two together I didn't realize that the light bulb had just clicked on. On February 1st, which was a Friday, I sat at home waiting for Natalia. She had phoned earlier that day saying she found my present and would be giving it to me that evening. As I anxiously waited her arrival I got another phone call from her, this one summoning me to the animal shelter about a mile away. At that point, the light came on for me too. When I arrived, she walked out to greet me and gave me a big hug. I followed her inside and there I laid eyes on the most adorable puppy. The volunteer informed us he was a mix of German Sheppard and Labrador. He was part of a litter of 10 which was recently rescued from a house; no one could find the mother. Later that evening, after much searching and thought we settled on the name Rex. And looking back, the name fits him very well. On Rex's first vet visit, the veterinarian informed us that Sheppard's are very intelligent albeit slightly neurotic dogs and Labradors are very personable and loving dogs. A great combination I thought. Fast forward two months and Rex has become an integral part of our family. On weekends Rex gets plenty of exercise wrestling with Natalia's grandfathers 7 month old basset/coon hound and during the week he tears up and down the stairs in my 3-story townhouse. He has been a lot of fun so far (except maybe those first few weeks spent potty training) and I look forward to many more years with him at our side (and possibly a few other pets as space permits). |