Introducing Daisy Sue!

I’ve got to go off-topic today because my household just grew by one, which doesn’t happen every day! Allow me to introduce Kay’s and my new puppy, Daisy Sue.

We got Daisy from the Santa Cruz Animal Shelter, where Kay and I both volunteer. Technically we haven’t adopted her yet; we’re waiting to see how well she and Max, the cat, get along. But up to this point the signs seem very positive. Max was quite surprised to find a puppy in his kitchen this morning, and there was some growling and hissing for the first hour or so. But now he seems remarkably calm about the whole thing. He has only met adult dogs before, and not done very well with them. I think that getting a puppy was a good idea, because he can see that it does not pose any kind of threat.

We think that Daisy is a cross between a Chihuahua and a terrier. She’s got the scruffy hair of a terrier, but her sister (who is still at the shelter and available for adoption) is smooth-haired and has a typical Chihuahua coloration. She is about three or four months old now, and we don’t know how big she will be when she grows up, but I would guess maybe ten pounds. Her fur is remarkably soft right now, but maybe it will get coarser and more like typical terrier fur as she gets older.

Kay picked the name “Daisy.” I was going to call her “Sue Bee.” We decided to compromise on “Daisy Sue,” but if you’ve ever been married you probably know how this compromise will end up. She will be called “Daisy” 99 percent of the time, and maybe when we’re mad at her we’ll call her “Daisy Sue.” But that’s fine with me.

Of course, what you really want are more pictures! Here is Daisy at the shelter this morning, ready to go home:

In the car on the way home:

Exploring her new neighborhood:

By the way, for dog lovers, that is totally not a Chihuahua face.

And finally, we end with a picture of Max and Daisy in a warm embrace… NOT! That will take, um, a little bit more time.

Anyway, this has been a great end to a great week. I also agreed to a book contract this week, which should basically pay my income for the next two or three years. If any of you have ever been free-lancers at anything, you know what a huge deal that is. Usually I can only foresee my income for a couple months or a few months ahead.

Chess has kind of taken a back seat to all the other news for the moment, but don’t worry! There will be more chess news in due time.