Puppy Dog Surprise. Welcome Jack Henry!

The house was so empty with Dibalo being gone, and since I work from home, the silence was overwhelming. All I could do was stare at all the places he claimed as his own; the space next to my desk, the spot at the front door, in front of the fireplace. I couldn't focus on getting anything done - no writing, no reading, no cooking, no baking, no EATING! I didn't even feel like Pintersting! I had sworn the day after Diablo died, I would not ever want another dog. And then a few days later, I opened the computer and started searching for dogs. And this seemed to be the only thing that got my mind off Diablo. John said "Wait a month." I said, "I need something to distract me - and the only thing that's going to distract me is a new dog." And so...he said he was going to get me an iPad as a birthday/Christmas present, but if I'd rather have a dog, he'd give that to me instead.

After breakfast at the Cross Keys Diner Tuesday, we went to Jack's Dog Farm and picked out a chocolate lab pup. I named him Bob (though for some reason, the few people we told about Bob, kept calling him Jack - and we kind of liked that name too). We decided to surprise Katie with him and the staff at Cutter's Mill is so awesome, I called and talked to Kayla who said they would love to help us surprise Katie. They made up a dog tag that said "I Belong To Katie Freed" and John arrived just before opening on Saturday morning with "Bob" (who would later become Jack Henry - or "Just Jack"). Katie and I arrived at Cutter's Mill (they always have dog events there, so seeing a dog inside Cutter's Mill is not surprising!). Rich, the manager, was holding Bob/Jack and we asked to see him. I asked if I could video tape him and he said "sure" - and then I asked Katie to read the dog tag and that's when she discovered that the adorable chocolate lab was our new pup. "I call him Bob - but we were thinking about the name Jack," I said. "Jack. For sure," Katie said. And so that's that. Though we miss Diablo terribly and he fills a place in our heart that no one will ever replace, he'd surely want us to fill the empty house with love and laughter again. Thanks to everyone who called, sent flowers, cards, emails, and left comments. Animal lovers are a special kind of people and John, Katie, and I were so touched. And Thank You to Rich and Kayla at Cutter's Mill in Chalfont! "There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." ~Ben Williams