alternate title: “Doug says I told you so”

Sarah’s best friend since, oh, forever, has grandparents who live on a farm. On this farm, there are occasionally a litter of pure-bred puppies. Sarah’s friend begged and pleaded to have one of the most recent puppies, but her mother wouldn’t budge. Sarah’s friend came up with a fall back plan. If she couldn’t have a puppy, she would talk one of her friends into getting one. Then, she could see the puppy all the time without having to do any of the work involved in housebreaking and training a new puppy. Sarah bit the bait. Sarah begged and pleaded for one of the puppies. I started off saying no, but Sarah kept up with her different attempts to convince me. She tried emotional arguments. Logical arguments. Ridiculous arguments. Finally, I was tired of hearing the pathetic whining. “Fine, Sarah. If they have a puppy that nobody else wants and the puppy is free, we will adopt the puppy.” Doug rolled his eyes in a manner that I know he learned from me. “Now we have two dogs.” I explained that the logic in my two requirements was foolproof and I was backed by TreeHousePuppies. The discussion was forgotten. Then, guess what happened? One of those puppies had a trait which made her undesirable. She has, the dreaded, horrific – floppy ear. One little ear that just doesn’t feel like standing at attention. How could anyone not want a dog just because they have a silly little ear? So, Sarah handed me a list of names for the new family member. The choices she gave me were: Kate, Sun, Claire, Juliette and Alex. Umm, no. But, I knew exactly what would please Sarah and fit a funny little dog. The newest member of our family is –

Dharma.  I think she looks like she belongs with us.