Note: I lost a significant portion of this post at some point. I rewrote what I thought I had written.

I grew up in a house that always had a dog. Alphie was the first in a line of terrier/poodle mixes in our household. Clifford came next and is the dog I remember always being there waiting for me after school.

Amy and I kept things kept things simple after we shacked up. A cat and fish were about all we could manage. Yep, just toss some food in a bowl once a day. However, we eventually longed for some canine companionship.

Bonnie was a sweet manored shepherd mix brought home from a shelter shortly after Ryan was born and the purchase of our first house. It didn't take us long to realize we were in over our head with a new born, a long commute, and a dog that needed more attention than we could give.

A few years later, while at the playground with Ryan, we made the mistake of falling for the cure factor without knowledge of the breed. Sammy was the cutest Boxer pup you'd ever set eyes on. A breeder had driven a few hours to Santa Fe to sell Sammy to someone who never showed up at the park. The next thing Amy and I remember was writing a check to the breeder.

Sammy was a great dog that needed more time than Amy and I had. We were both still commuting and Sammy was left in a yard which he soon laid barren. We soon found a good home for Sammy with someone who had an older Boxer who needed companionship.

Five years later and after several "We oughta get a dog" conversations later, we've gone and done it again. This time, however, we did it right. We picked a breed that I had some experience with and one that won't aggrevate Ryan's allergies.

Louie is a West Highland White Terrier, and the latest addition to the Kieffer family. He was about nine months old when we first brought him home. It took a few months to get him fully house trained, but he hasn't had an accident for a few months now.