Leah's cats eat bugs; Hence I'll be getting a dog, not a cat. In less than 12 hours, one of these* will be in my kitchen:

The breed is called Shetland sheepdog. They're known for their loyalty to their owners, and their intelligence. They're herding dogs. When not herding on a farm, they consider their owner their 'herder', and they consider children in their home to be 'sheep'. Though the breed resembles collies (think: Lassie), they are a different breed. They're much smaller than collies, and their muzzles are shorter.

My puppy is now 8 weeks old. He was born on March 5th, and has 5 other brothers, and no sisters. His coloring is called "sable", and consists of golden through mahogany colored fur and white.

I would never consider getting a different breed of dog. I had a Sheltie from the time I was born until I was 6. He died when he was 15. He was the greatest companion, human or not. When I was in preschool, I was thoroughly convinced I would marry him someday. I actually envisioned walking down the aisle, with him on his hind legs beside me. Even my mother, who doesn't like animals, loved our Sheltie-- Kirby. Here's a [presumably true] story she likes to tell me: Kirby was already living with my parents when I was born. The first time I came back from the hospital, my mother held me down at eye level for Kirby. A few weeks later, she laid a blanket on the living room floor for me, and set me on it. Kirby walked on the blanket and started smelling me. (Sexy, I know.) "No, Kirby! That's Baby's blanket," my mom told him. He carefully stepped off the blanket, and from then on, he would scoot his paws to the very edge of my blanket, and simply watch me. He would lay beside my blanket on the floor, and once I started walking, he would follow me around, tolerating me as I pulled on his tail and ears. (Come on, I was a toddler!) He never once snapped at me. Once, I was playing out on the grass in our backyard, and he was sitting beside me watching me. As a bee approached me, he snapped at it, saving me from a sting. I'm an only child, so back then when the neighborhood kids weren't around, I had to find ways to entertain myself. (Think: masturbation...) I really considered Kirby a friend, and still do. Shetland sheepdogs' sense of taste isn't very advanced, so Kirby didn't mind eating anything. More than once, Kirby and I took turns licking an ice cream cone. One lick, and alternate, over and over until the entire cone was gone. (I would eat the cone.) I didn't eat much when I was younger (surprise!), so my father was really adamant when it came to eating everything on my plate. I was sitting at the bar in our kitchen, struggling to eat a slice of pizza. Of course, Kirby came to the rescue. "Psst! Kirby! Eat!" He and I would've gotten away with it had Kirby's mouth not've gotten covered with pizza sauce. Dead giveaway.

This new puppy will be named Irby. (Pronounce "er-bee".) See? I have a bit of creativity in me! I am so original, that I just knew naming the new pup "Kirby" would be a dishonor to Kirby, and a stupid thing to do. Hopefully, the puppy will live up to Kirby's legacy. [Cue dramatic music.]

*Not one of those dogs in particular, but a puppy of the same breed, and almost the same age.

More pictures of that litter can be found here and here. I'll definitely post pictures of mine soon.