I’m proud to finally introduce you to Zinnia, the new Lab puppy our breeder has chosen to be my dog, and my next therapy dog.

I was texting our very great breeder, Lenore Severni of Stonewall Farms Labradors earlier today about our visit to her farm tomorrow to hopefully meet Zinnia, our Lab puppy who is almost five weeks old.

Tomorrow is a chance to meet Lenore’s new litter, our dog can’t come home until November 12.

I’ve been getting lovely puppy photos from Lenore – who has a wicked sense of humor and likes teasing me – for days now, but I really wasn’t certain which one of them was Zinnia, or if enough time had passed for her to make a choice.

I told her what time we’d be arriving tomorrow, and then, acting on instinct I asked: “Have you spotted Zinnia yet?”

The last time I asked, a week ago, Lenore said it was “way too soon to know for sure.”

Yesterday she answered right away: “yes.”

It was a neat moment for me, I called for Maria to come and look at the photo.

“Photo,?” I asked, getting excited.

Sure, she said, just give her a few minutes, Zinnia, she said, was doing farm chores. I was puzzled by the answer, but soon enough this photo came in of a  beautiful puppy sitting calmly on an old metal farm truck toy.

This was Lenore’s way of introducing me to Zinnia, who Maria and I will meet tomorrow in Connecticut.

I put great trust in good and responsible breeders, they know their puppies, and I have told Lenore that I need a calm and grounded dog to be the kind of therapy dog I want to have.

Lenore  has been doing this for several decades, she knows her stuff.

I bet this is a dog like that.

First of all, I love the expression on her face, accepting and calm. I like that she can sit on a toy truck and be still enough to be photographed so well (Lenore knows how to do this).  This is not something border collie puppies want to do.

She is already being socialized – good breeders do that.

And she is, of course, like most puppies, adorable. Puppy love is intense, all kinds of people keep telling me they love the smell of puppy breath. I have rarely if ever, smelled the breath of a puppy, but I guess I should try it, it’s the rage.

So this is a big deal for me and Maria, for the farm, the dogs, my writing and photos, my books and life.

Also, I hope, a big day for the Mansion residents, the students at Bishop Maginn High School, and some future patients of elder and hospice care.

Red is the elephant in the room here, he inspired me to get another dog and to train another therapy dog. His work is far from done. Any puppy would be fortunate to be Maria’s dog, and many of my friends are waiting to meet and greet and love her.

I am eager to love her and work with her and train her with patience and affection. For me, training starts from the first day and never stops.

This dog will be much loved. I love the look of this dog and am excited to be meeting her face to face tomorrow. Don’t worry. I’m bringing my camera.