Mischa Goes to Camp!

Mischa is spending the week at our home (Nicole's parents) in New Jersey! We were, frankly, a bit apprehensive, for a couple of reasons.

First, whenever we visit Nicole in Washington, Mischa spends all her time with her mom, and in fact avoids any contact with us. We were concerned that Mischa would spend a miserable week in New Jersey, avoiding us and crying for her mom. This concern proved groundless, as I'll explain later.

Secondly, its been a while since we've had a dog in our home. I was fortunate to have Nicole's only other dog with us during the years she was in college, law school, and beginning her career. His name was Buttons; a white purebred miniature poodle. He had a variety of pet pet names; Goober, Scooter, the beloved poodle, Pupkin, HoneyBun, Buttsworth, the ElderPoodle, to name a few. Buttons died in my arms on December 30, 2005, at the age of 17. I mourn him daily. I thought you'd all enjoy seeing a few pictures of him.































Now, as for Mischa (or, as I call her, the Meesh).....far from being standoffish, she settled right in to her new (temporary) environment. She had to tolerate a few soaking rains, but still managed to stay fluffy and cute. She loves to cuddle, jump up in your lap and give kisses, and go for walks. She's a very docile, sane puppy, except for brief periods when she goes nuts and runs around! She's very loyal and friendly, following me everywhere around the house, like a....puppy dog! (wonder if thats where the expression came from?) It will be interesting to see how Mischa reacts when Nicole comes to visit tomorrow. Will she recognize her mom? forget her grandparents? stay tuned!