So, this post was supposed to be all about my new dog. But I am not going to tell you about him now, because my dog has parvo. And if he doesn’t make it, I don’t want this post here to remind me.

Oh, that’s crap. I love this dog. He deserves better than that. He is an awesome dog. See?

I picked him out Friday afternoon from one of the local Animal Control shelters. He is an Australian Shepherd mix, about 6 months old. He was picked up by the side of the road on the 19th. He is emaciated: 19 inches at the shoulders, 30 inches from the tip of the nose to the base of his tail, and only 17.8 pounds. He has pinworms, ringworms, and roundworms. And even with all of that AND the parvo, the dog is so on his game that we were house training (and my version of house training means “pee/poop on command”), crate training and leash training.

He submitted to a bath as soon as I got him home, and laid meekly in my lap while I trimmed AND filed his nails. He is an awesome dog, and his name is My Awesome Boyfriend, because he gave me kisses and a present on our first date. The present was a pile of parvo-laden, worm-filled poop, but it was a present!

I’ve been wanting an Aussie since I worked with them in rescue, so about 12 years, maybe a bit longer. I refuse to believe that fate would finally allow me to have the dog of my dreams just to let him die on me. Three days of My Awesome Boyfriend is not enough; I signed up for the full fifteen year hitch.

But this very minute, the weight on my heart is about as heavy as your average undermount sink.