We stopped by Robin Gibbons house this morning to check in on Leroy, who rushed up to see Maria when he saw her.  He was happy to sit in my arms for a bit. We each picked him up and held him for awhile, he shivered a bit and then settled down. We can see that he is playful and adventurous, but also calm and social.

His mother Hannah is wonderfully attentive and affectionate. In a day or so, we’ll take him outside for a few minutes to see a bit of the world. He is five weeks old, due to come home with us three more weeks.

Many hundreds of Boston Terrier owners have messaged me in praise of this affectionate and fun breed, and other people have expressed shock and some outrage that I am acquiring a small dog. I am eager to explore and write about the small dog experience.  And I will share every bit of it.

We are leaning to keeping the name. We just like it.

I’ve had border collies for nearly 15 years now, and nothing about a breed can really surprise me any longer. The Boston Terriers are clearly family dogs, affectionate, playful and high energy. Not as different from border collies as one might think.

From what I’ve seen of Robins dogs (she is the breeder), Fate is in for some excitement, these dogs love to run and play, Maybe she can learn to herd sheep. Maria is already very drawn to him, this is going to work, I can feel it. I can’t wait to start guiding him to therapy  work at the Mansion.

I have, of course, been flooded with obnoxious messages from people telling me what to do, how to buy a dog,  when it should come home, how it should be trained and fed, etc. Like Donald Trump, I have come to finally see these messages as the gift that they truly are: they make me stronger and more confident about my own decisions, and yes, my own inevitable mistakes.

Can’t wait for Leroy to come home.