The Digital Age and Hank

I have officially entered the digital age. My wonderful boyfriend bought me a digital camera for Christmas. This is a big deal for many reasons. A). I have never really used a digital camera. 2). Though I love taking pictures, I have a hard time keeping track of my camera. I lost it (my old Olympus, not the new one), found it again, lost it again and now I have the case, but no idea where the camera is. How is that even possible? D). I'm a klutz and I have a tendency to break anything that I really like and really don't want to break. Then I cry and beat myself up. It isn't pretty.

But I am determined to break these bad habits with my New Fancy Digital Camera. Mostly though, I've just taken pictures of my dog, Hank. I'm going to try and post some. We'll see what happens. Hank is a wonderful mutt. I found him at the Anti-Cruelty Society here in Chicago. My office is nearby and I used to wander over sometimes on my lunch break and look at the doggies. Then, one day, there was Hank. He was so cute and little - about 4 months old - that I had to have him. So, I called Boyfriend and told him to meet me there after work. Then, I raced over as soon as the end of the day came and I took Hank out to play so that no one else could take him home. Puppies don't last long at shelters. Every one wants a puppy. It's the poor dogs over a year old that sit there forever.

But I digress. Boyfriend finally shows up, and we play with Hank (who, at this point was not Hank - they were calling him "Flip" - but I had decided after lunch that his name was Hank. It is never a good idea to name a dog before you adopt him. It just makes it harder if you decide you can't have him). We played too long to adopt him that day, so we went home. We discuss the merits of dogs in apartments. How much exercise he'll need, what will happen to him during the day. What breed he might be. Boyfriend thought he might be an English Pointer - which need a ton of exercise and can become "destructive" if they don't get enough exercise. We decide Hank would not be happy here and we can't have him. But, now the dog-fever is in and we want one. We decide to go to some adoption events that weekend. The dogs we see suck. They're aggressive or abused or too big. Generally, they are not Hank. "Maybe we should check the Anti-Cruelty Society" I say. "Maybe they have some new dogs in. I'm sure Hank is gone." Hank is not gone. He is there. He wants to say hello. We play with him. We talk to the volunteers who tell us that any home - no matter how small - is better than a shelter. We adopt Hank. Yay! My first Dog! Now Hank is almost a year old. He is wonderful. At the moment, he is sleeping next to me, as he does most days when I am home and supposed to be writing a paper or doing research.

He isn't perfect though - he does need a lot of exercise. At the moment, I'm trying to find a good daycare place - he had a good place, but it isn't really convenient anymore. He needs to run around with other doggies and get tired. Unfortunately, most places charge an arm and a leg to let your dog play with other city dogs and I don't have an arm and a leg to spare. I need mine.