Introducing: Rufus!

As you may already know, I like animals. I mean, I'm not one of those people with five cats, a dog, three birds and a monkey, but I like animals. When our last pet, Wilbur, died, it was really sad, but it also meant that one day soon, Sue and I could get a dog. We've wanted a dog almost since we got married, but knew that Wilbur and a dog would never mix.

Well, Tuesday was that day. We drove two hours to the breeder to pick up our new puppy, Rufus. Rufus is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, and he's seven weeks old. And, if I can be excused of a little pet-centeredness, he's really quite adorable.

As I write this, we've had him for a little over 24 hours. So far, so good, I guess. Like most puppies, he eats, sleeps, and chews on things. Luckily, he's got a very gentle chew and isn't all that destructive -- he's more of a gnawer than a shredder, I guess. Mostly, though, he's a world champion sleeper. He sleeps more than I can even believe.

He's also got some separation anxiety issues -- he hates to be alone, even if he's in one room and we're in another. Of course, I'm sure this is the first time he's ever been alone in his life, being born in a litter of six on a ranch with lots of other dogs (and people) around all the time. On the other hand, he's really smart (typical for the breed). He is, in fact, already pretty much paper trained after only one day.

It's a strange feeling, almost like how I imagine a parent might feel, looking down at Rufus while he's sleeping or eating. It's a mixture of affection and "what on earth have we gotten ourselves into?" Assuming Rufus lives a good, long, full life -- and obviously I hope that's the case -- he'll be around until I'm almost 50 years old. And I can't even really conceive of being 50 years old. That's a long commitment. I'm guessing, however, that he'll be worth it.