Sweet Baby Girl

Shortly after Kevin and I were married, I had one of the most difficult days of my life. We were married in August and by December, we had to put down my angel dog of 12 years, Hobbes. He had congestive heart failure and no matter how many different medications we tried, none of them seemed to work. They all did for a while; when one stopped working, we'd try another ... and then, none of them worked at all.

I can't tell you how devastating it was to have to have him put down. I was depressed and cried for hours on end. He was such a good boy - and stayed with me through many of lifes ups and downs. I was so blessed to have him in my life - and when he was gone, I missed him terribly. I still do.

One Sunday after Hobbes was gone, I went into the living room and gave Kevin 'the pouty face'. He asked if I wanted to 'go play with puppies', and I, sad faced, nodded yes.

We went to the Pasadena Humane Society and found her. She was lying, belly up, in a cage with a young shelter volunteer scratching her belly. She looked up at us with eager brown eyes and Kevin swears she uttered the words 'this could be you'. We took her out in the yard and played with her to see how we'd all get along. From the start it was a match made in Heaven. When we went in to talk to the adoption counselor, she read the intake report. The final summation: sweet baby girl.

And that's exactly what she is. The name stuck -- we both refer to her often as 'Sweet Baby Girl'. She looks up innocently with those big brown eyes and wags her tail ever so slightly. She knew she had us from the word go.

This past weekend, Sweet Baby Girl (aka, Slippers) got her 'summer 'do'. I'm not sure who loves it more - Kevin and I or Slippers. From her perspective, she's got to be cooler and more comfortable without all that hair! From our perspective, we just love the fuzziness of her newly shorn coat! From any perspective, she's an adorable, albeit spoiled, sweet baby girl. What do you think of her new 'do'?Sleeping Angel

Listening to the early morning sounds in the neighborhood...