Life will change

Stacey, Mei, Fen and I are not the only ones who have a big life change around the corner.

As many of you who know us are well aware, our little dog Maggie is a central figure in our lives.  She has had to endure a great deal of affection, which she does not always appreciate, and has been under  close supervision at almost every moment of the day during the five years we have had her.

Maggie had a rough start to life as a puppy mill dog, but she has made incredible progress over the years.  She will never be as comfortable as most well-adjusted dogs are, but she enjoys life, as is apparent in the photo.

Life for Maggie is certainly going to be different with a much busier and louder household, with even more food to discover on the kitchen floor and some wonderful smells only a dog can truly appreciate.  We are expecting that she will enjoy being around the girls, but it is hard to predict.  She has shown great interest in the kids in the neighborhood as well as our nieces and nephews.  A few years ago when our youngest nephew Simon was just starting to crawl, he and Maggie had a funny exchange.  They got nose to nose and Simon reached out and grabbed Maggie's mustache.  She slowly pulled away and then came back in for another nose to nose sniff.  Simon took the opportunity for another touch of her facial hair and the dance continued back and forth for a while.

I think Maggie feels more comfortable with kids than adults, but we'll see if that remains the case when the girls begin to run around.  Hopefully as the girls grow they will learn to be gentle with her and she will get the space she needs.  She is a really sweet dog.