Luke, the Squirrel Terrier

You’ve heard of a fox terrier; he goes after guys who look like the red fox below.

Fox terriers don’t chase after them, like in the movies; those are foxhounds. Fox terriers root out the hunted fox who’s gone to his underground lair. That’s his specialty, to expose the fox who’s hiding, thus ending the hunt [...]

Doggie-Sized Den

It is a fact undisputed by the parents of every small child: give the kid a big present and she’ll spend more time playing with the box than the toy inside it.
When I was little I was that way, and so were you. Little ones like kid-sized environments.
As an adult I’ve come to admire parents [...]

Progress in Doggieland

Luke and I are coming to the end of Sunday night, so we’ve known each other about 60 hours now; I guess our first date’s over. He’s definitely interested in seeing me again, but not quite ready to hand over his life savings.
We’ve made progress, including with the upstairs/downstairs drama; and we socialized a [...]

Come and Meet My New Dog!

Here he is, at long last: “Tony,” formerly of the Humane Society of Indianapolis, now living at my house (and currently hiding under the bed).
Tony, or Julian, or maybe even Jamie, I haven’t decided which. In a way I want to wait until I know him better to rename him; his name should fit [...]

Episcopal Church Announces Special Outreach to Roman Catholics

“All of the pageantry—none of the guilt!”
— Robin Williams
Dear Catholic Friends,
You may have heard recently that the Pope has announced a new “ordinariate” that allows Anglicans and Episcopalians to become Catholics while keeping their Prayer Books, hymns and married priests.
(Is there a special office at the Vatican that comes up with words like “ordinariate”? [...]

Teaching Children to Lie for TV

Larimer County, Colorado Sheriff Jim Alderden, announcing charges in the “balloon boy” caper. (Will Powers/Associated Press)
Give the “balloon boy” credit. He managed to spill the beans despite being coached by his parents to lie about the “flying saucer” incident on live TV. Speaking of his parents, six-year-old Falcon Heene told Wolf Blitzer on CNN Thursday [...]

Animals & Humanity on Display

The Humane Society of Indianapolis is a fantastic organization; great animals, wonderful volunteers, a very good facility, kind and competent staff. I got to visit today as a prospective adopter, a customer, a guest; I went in with no preconceived notions and was very impressed by the entire operation. I’m sure it has some faults [...]

Finding the Right Dog

(Many updates below; see the comments.)
Here’s a classified ad in a nearby newspaper:
Rat Terrier – 3 yrs. old, female, housebroken. Great dog, but we have a baby. 219-XXX-XXXX
Subclassification: Absolutely Free
First Rundate: 10/08/2009
And here’s an ad on Petfinder:
Luke
Fox Terrier
Young, M
Humane Society of Indianapolis
Hi, my name is Luke and I didn’t have the best start in life, [...]

Oregano Harvest

It’s that time of year, fall in the Northern Hemisphere; the farmers around my house are out cutting their soybeans, while I’ve started to pick the last of my tarragon and oregano. My house smells lovely.
A month ago I brought in vast quantities of tarragon, mostly out of self-defense; the tarragon plant is huge this [...]