Partial explanation for my recent blog downtime: Eve and I rescued “Keiko,” a lovely half-fox terrier, half-Italian greyhound pup! If you’ve ever had a puppy, you know how incredibly engaging they can be. :-)

We suspect Keiko’s first few months of life were hard; he was picked up off the streets and is scared of strangers, especially large men. For the first few days we had him in our home, when I approached him at a normal pace he would either run away or drop to his belly and crawl piteously towards me. I had to drop to my knees to make him feel safe enough to approach. He still does the “don’t hurt me!” belly crawl on a regular basis, but at least he doesn’t run away from me anymore. Better still, he loves to snuggle once I’ve comforted him for a few seconds.

Keiko also likes to lick your face (if you’ll let him), bounce around like a kangaroo (he’s got an impressive vertical!) and tussle with our other dog, Pooka, who outweighs him by almost 200%. Fortunately, she’s gracious enough to frequently let him feel like he’s winning the battle. And as of today, she has started allowing him to nap next to her on the same bed.

Keiko also enjoys pooping in the house. That part is a bit less endearing, I’ll admit. But we’ll break him of the habit soon, I hope. Either way, it’s a good thing we were planning on replacing the carpets soon. :P