Twelve down, eighty-eight to go

"Nobody told me the world was so big."

 When Rosie was in puppy kindergarten, the teacher told us that our puppies were supposed to meet 100 new people and dogs every week. Angus's teacher wasn't quite that optimistic, but she urged us to make sure that our pups meet all kinds of people as often as possible--people of different skin tones, she said, and people wearing hats, and people in wheelchairs, and people who are taller than us, or shorter, or younger. People who are different from us.

Puppies are like sponges, she said, and what they learn now they learn forever, and if they learn that people and other dogs are great and approachable, they will stay friendly throughout their lives.

Today Angus went on his very first and second leash walks ever, and he met seven neighbors (three of them children), two random women down at the lake, one woman and her Samoyed, and, earlier in the day, Doug's sister, who drove into town to see him.

Just eighty-eight more to go.

Who wouldn't want to take a break from skiing to meet a puppy?

He was really good on the walks--strong and curious, astounded, apparently, by runners: He'd sit down and watch them fly past and then stare after them wondering, maybe, where they were going, or, more likely, why they didn't stop to pet him.

And in between walks, time to race around the yard with his big sister.

A pretty good day. And no wonder he's sound asleep right now. Resting. And, of course, growing.