Fatale Abstraction

When I arrived at the farm in Grayson county Saturday afternoon, this pup came spilling out onto the porch with a couple pups of another breed. They were playing and giggling as pups do, when one of the other dogs snuck up on the Jack Russell and she jumped straight up in the air and spun around midair to confront her attacker. Popcorn seemed a great name for her. Or Pop Tart. Or Pinball. But no, not quite right.

Yeah, so, it was mebbe 5 minutes later I told the breeder "yeah, I really want her, I'll take her if you'll let me," and thus was the deal made. I stayed for a while and got to meet her mother, a pretty female who very much resembled Valentine. Nice.

Back in the kitchen to sign the papers, I scooped up the wiggly pup again to pet her sweet self, and she nestled onto my shoulder and promptly went to sleep. I felt her limbs go soft and rubbery against my shoulder, and I knew this was the right thing to do. The breeder and her assistant marveled at the sight of a JRT calming down so instantly and dropping off to sleep when held by a stranger. Somehow, it seemed like a wonderful thing.

I misted up and cried a bit on the way home, but this time, my tears for the loss of Valentine were comingled with tears of joy that I'm starting a new adventure with this other marvelous little creature. I thought back to that cold winter night 17 years ago when doglet came home zipped up in my leather jacket, sleeping like a log and so very content- I had no idea that I had embarked upon a remarkable relationship. Now I know the gravity, and it's a big deal.

As for her pedigree, the breeder is researching it. The pedigree goes back 4 generations, and my dog would be probably at least 6 or 7 generations back. What is definitively known is that Valentine's father is in the bloodline of this pup, as is the male who sired Valentine's pups, so it's possible she is a descendant of Valentine, but at this point, it's moot. I fell in lurve, and I'm gonna keep her.

She's pretty and sparky, but she's also a power-napper. She slept the entire 90 minutes back to Dallas, and when we went into Canine Commissary on Mockingbird, she was the belle of the ball-- all the other customers were coming up and asking about her, oohing and aahing. Little charmer!

So, now I have the proud honor of presenting Miss Praline. Yes, another gooey/cutey-pie name from me, but she's like a tooth-ache-inducing lump of sticky-sweet goodness with a goodly helping of nuts thrown in for good measure. She's a funny pup, and loves (or indulges) lots of petting, even while she's asleep. In the past 10 hours, I've grinned and laughed more than the previous 3 weeks combined.

I'll try to post more and better pics during the day on Sunday.

It's good to have a dog in the house again.