Dog days

We're settling in pretty well with our new pooch, if you can ignore the thick coating of dog hair that now covers our entire house and the three bags of dry food in the closet she refuses to eat and the stomach problems she seems to be having now that we have caved in to her command for only canned food and the general sense that I can walk her successfully only because she never pulls as hard as she really could on the leash, if she were the kind of dog who would do that. She's still uncomfortable with the amount of affection my son wants to give her, but she's mostly polite in turning him down. Do you have a family pet? Go to this poll and list your menagerie. You might also be interested in April Cain's latest essay, "Seeing the Beauty Beneath the Skin," on how her family got their dog; and in this listing of service animals. Who knew there were guide horses?