For Every Silver Lining . . .

I took an impromptu road trip to Virginia last week. It was to get a new puppy. After much research, I decided I wanted an English Cocker Spaniel. In the US, American Cockers ar much more common, and that is what Goober is, and what my previous dog, Missy, was before her. The thing is, Americans are over-bred, and therefore have more genetic defects and tend to more illnesses.

So I went with the (in the US) much more rare English Cocker. There are maybe 100 breeders in the US and you can be on a waiting list for a year or more before receiving one, so when one became available, I decided to jump on it. There are benefits to getting a new puppy when you have an older dog. The older dog can help teach the puppy mannerisms that humans just can't teach; they can help show that the human is the alpha and the puppy must respect the owner.

And so away Kristy and I went to Virginia to get her. It was supposed to be an 8-10 hour drive each way; we ended up driving for about 28 out of 32 hours that we were on the road. (We slept for 3.) Here is what happened: There were two fatal accidents while we were on I-95, which resulted in highway closings. There were, of course, numerous minor accidents and construction sites.

Regardless, after a hellish drive, I arrived home with a beautiful new pup, whose name is Ginny (I think). It might also be Pippa. Here is her picture: