The Prologue

This is Ripken. He's 10. Monkey and I have decided it's time to get another dog. This was a difficult decision for us to make. Neither of us has ever been a part of a two dog household. We don't know what the mayhem of two fairly active dogs will be like (we have had vicarious experience with multi-dog households, and most of those experiences have been...exciting).

We also worried about how Ripken, our faithful, loving, and super-sweet companion of a decade would take to a new recipient of our love and care. We know that Ripken's demeanor is such that he will most likely be good with another dog, but we wouldn't want him to feel jealous or resentful of a puppy.

But, I knew that Monkey would want to get a new puppy when Ripken was no longer with us, and I knew that I didn't want to get a new puppy when Ripken was no longer with us. It seemed to me that if we waited for the loss of one dog to obtain another that we would, in a way, be replacing the former dog with the new dog. I didn't want to feel that way. So, after much debate, we decided that we would get a new puppy, now.

Ripken is ten. He is mature enough to maintain a certain calm demeanor, yet he is active enough to be able to play with a younger dog for a little while without wearing down. Plus, he probably spends too much time displaying his calm demeanor. He might welcome a companion to tussle with on occasion. We thought this would be the perfect age for a new dog. Maybe Ripken can have a positive influence on the new dog's training; maybe the new dog will have a positive influence on Ripken.

So we are getting a new dog. This Sunday we will be visiting the breeder and picking our puppy from the litter born in late February. The dog we choose will be coming home with us on April 17 (or thereabouts). His name will be Parker.

Why Parker? Well, we just thought it was a cool name. It is short for Peter Parker, the regular kid who, through a radioactive spider bite, becomes your friendly neighborhood crime fighter, Spiderman. Ripken, of course, is named after Cal Ripken, probably my all-time favorite Baltimore Oriole. Spiderman, on the other hand, while being a highly admirable character, isn't a particular favorite of mine. I love baseball, so Ripken came naturally as a dog's name, I guess. I don't love comic books. But, through a decade of hypothetical dog-naming sessions (this seems to have been in the works for a while), Monkey and I both settled on Peter Parker as the name we liked the best. Maybe it's the alliteration.

At any rate, on Sunday, the name will meet the dog, and something will be fatefully sealed. Three weeks later, we'll be knee deep in puppy training, and this will be the place where I will keep track of every moment I can remember to type out.

Stay tuned!