Minnesotan.

Last winter, people assured me that it was unusually cold.  "The coldest winter in my lifetime!" they said.  "If you can make it through this, you'll be a true Minnesotan!"  I smiled and wrapped my new winter coat tighter around myself knowing that this was simply a "trial by ice".  The spring finally did come and it was followed by a really glorious summer.  I felt good about surviving my first winter in Minnesota and felt even better knowing that this upcoming winter wouldn't be as bad...

What the eff, Minneapolis???

So maybe it's been cold all over the U.S.  In fact, for the first time in many decades all 50 (!!!) states went below freezing last night.  And, the rumor is that it is actually going to be a pretty mild winter this year.  It's just getting all of the cold stuff out of the way early.  So we hope.

In the meantime, here is a video from yesterday of the puppies to warm your heart.  They're getting so big at two weeks now!

Helping Paws.

So here's something!  After a lot of deliberation, Man Boo and I made the decision to foster a service dog!  Crazy, right?

We have always wanted a dog.  Despite having two cats, we're both "dog people".  Sadly, the kind of dog that we wanted (i.e. the frisbee catching-type) was never a realistic option because we did not feel we had the time and space to provide a good home for one.

The stars began to align when we moved to Minneapolis and purchased a home with more space and a backyard larger than a postage stamp.  They aligned further when I realized that working from home provides me the time and flexibility to provide care for a puppy.  And finally, when we met Tango...

...at the Helping Paws demo at the Minnesota State Fair this year, we really began to think much more seriously about the possibility.  After plenty of research, sitting in on training classes, and conversation we took the leap and put our application in.  

A couple interviews, references, and a home visit later we were invited into the Helping Paws family as foster parents to a puppy from the upcoming litter of Labrador puppies.  "Our" puppy was born on November 5th...

Mommy dog gave birth to 10 puppies and while we don't know which one will be ours (for the next two years or so) we do know that he or she is somewhere in that heap of adorable.  

I'm probably going to obsess over this puppy for a while, so I hope you all are alright for puppy overload in the next months.

The next question, of course, is why a service dog?  I'll save answering that question for another post...