Well, we certainly didn't expect this. Cookie passed just a few days ago. Ami and I had discussed it, and had decided to wait a few weeks to get serious about finding a new dog. And that was the plan.

At the same time, we wanted to help the kids move along a little in the grieving process (Dylan especially has struggled with the loss of Cookie), so decided we'd visit some shelters to sort of get them thinking that way again.

Today, we made a rash decision, and adopted Ike, the handsome fellow you see in the photo. He is an Australian Cattle dog mix and, so far, he's wonderful.

It was totally an accident. We decided to take a quick trip to Operation Kindness, a terrific no-kill shelter near our home, just to sort of meet a few dogs and get the kids thinking about it again. But then Dylan found Ike, behaving like a total gentleman among the chaos at the shelter. Within minutes, I knew we were in trouble. Dylan, the kid who was mad that we were going to look at dogs just minutes earlier, was asking "can we please get him? I like Ike."

It was over before it began. So tonight we're starting over. Reintroducing the cats to a new dog. Training the dog to walk on a leash. And soon, crate training.

The things we do for love, eh?