I see Zinnia loves a camera and has already learned how to pose. She’ll do well at Bedlam Farm. I’m meeting her on Tuesday. She’s coming home in just a little under a month. She is four weeks old.

I did a lot of fussing about whether or not to get a dog, or whether to get a puppy or an older one, or whether to get a shelter dog or a purebred dog.

I chose Yellow Labs in part because they make such good therapy dogs, and my wish for Zinnia is that she becomes a good therapy dog.

And the best way for me to make certain of a dog’s temperament is to find an ethical breeder who breeds for temperament and health. I did.

In my therapy work, no mistakes. The sick or the aged do not need to be knocked down, scratched or bitten.

It took a month or so for me to find Lenore Severni.

Red figures into all this of course.

I know some people think I’m in denial or am cold-blooded. One friend said I was not empathetic enough to people who lose their pets.

But I don’t tell other people how to feel about their lost dogs. There is no one way or right way.

Loss is loss, as my good friend Eve Marko told me.

Red was a wonderful dog, and I can’t think of a better tribute to him than loving him so much I want to do it again.

Some people focus instead on the pain of losing their dogs and say they will never do it again.

I don’t judge them. Speaking only for me, the simple truth is I would rather love a dog than mourn a dog. And for me, it is a choice.

I show the Mansion residents and the Bishop Maginn students her photo every time I see them. They are psyched. This is calculating I think. She will get warm welcomes everywhere.

I love dogs, and I love our feisty Boston Terrier, but the two breeds I have always been the most attached to are Labs and Border Collies.

Lenore died young. The vets thought it was spinal cancer. I declined exploratory surgery. We put her down quickly.

As you know, I have serious moral objections to subjecting dogs to invasive surgical procedures they don’t understand and can’t possibly agree to. Lenore was in too much pain to live, so we took mercy on her and let her go.

How fortunate our dogs are that we can do this for them, but not for our parents.

Lenore was a wonderful dog, the Love Dog, sweet and easy, and I never gave up on the Lab itch that was cut short, just as Gus’s small dog experiment was. I’m not much into quitting, and I mean to finish what I start.

If you love dogs, you will learn to understand something about death and mortality, if you don’t run or hide from the subject, or permit it to overwhelm you.

I want to continue the Lab experiment, just as I wanted to continue the Boston Terrier experiment. I’m giving the Border Collie experiment a well-deserved rest, although Fate is her to show me how spectacularly crazy these dogs can be.

Looking at this photo, I can’t recall what I was fussing about. I believe Zinnia is having a conversation with me. At four weeks of age, she already looks a bit wise and thoughtful about the world.

She likes the camera, she does not look shy or timid to me.

There’s a slightly sorrowful look in those eyes, perhaps she is reflecting on leaving her mother and sibs for a strange new world.

We love to train them and spoil them with love.

Don’t worry, kid, dogs do very well here. And no, you are not getting into bed, not this time. Your little brother here loves to pay, your Big Sister is good-hearted but she doesn’t like to share. Good luck. You’ll figure it out.

My cardinal rule about Lab puppies is that they are adorable, but they will soon be 60 lbs and if you don’t get it right off the bat, you will pay later.

We’re going to make some beautiful music, Zinnia, just you wait. Maria will melt like butter on the frying pan when she sees this photo by Lenore Severni, Zinnia’s breeder.

Zinnia will cost $2,500. She’s worth that and more. She will be a remarkable dog.

She is growing rapidly, and I thought I heard a whisper when I saw this photo: “Hey, there, come down and see me. Let’s talk. Are we right for each other? ”

I’ll be there on Tuesday, with my camera. I’d like to talk to you.