For awhile now, I’ve wanted to have a “school dog”–one that was comfortable coming to school with me and whose energy level and temperament were suited to being around lots of different people. The urge really struck hard this winter; although we’d acquired a puppy last year AND the year before, neither of those turned out to be the right fit for school, and somehow it just seemed like time. While I’d planned to wait till summer, I started looking in early spring, just keeping an eye on shelter websites. I’m a big fan of the rescue group where my daughter Lily got her dog three years ago. Heaven to Earth Rescue (http://h2erescue.com/) is in New Philadelphia, Ohio, and they do a superlative job of fostering and finding homes for an array of beautiful, healthy puppies. When a litter of yellow lab-golden retriever mix pups appeared on the site a few weeks ago, I knew this was “the one,” and I wrote them that day. I talked to Cindy on the phone Thursday night and by Saturday afternoon, Lily had driven down from Cleveland and picked up a 9-week-old male, whom we named Oliver. Of course, thanks to Lily, his first few days were well documented (http://lmcphoto.wordpress.com/). My niece and I went and collected him the following weekend, and after arriving home at 10:30 on a Sunday night, Oliver was a school dog by 8:00 the following morning. So far, so good–he expends so much energy playing with the big dogs at home that at school, he sleeps about 90% of the time. He’s already outgrown his first harness and has moved to a bigger floor cushion, and apart from a propensity to chew on found paper, his manners are admirable. And he loves the kids. Oliver’s temperament is friendly but low-key, perfect for playing. He’s been well socialized from day one, thanks to the good work of the rescue group, and he seems destined to play the role of an unofficial “therapy dog” to everyone (students and teachers alike!) who needs a few moments of puppy love in their day. And of course, he’s the ideal photographic subject. At the suggestion of one of my advisees, we’re taking a daily picture of Oliver and will update periodically to chart his growth. Below are some snapshots of his first week-and-a-half as he gets used to life in Virginia. Welcome home, Oliver!

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