Newman

Todd grew up with many, many dogs. I grew up with one, Sunny. She was a Doberman and she was mean looking but the sweetest dog ever. Todd was having withdrawals from not having had a dog in a few years so once we got into our first home, in 1998, we decided to get a dog. Todd spent countless hours going to the Humane Society and County Shelter and after looking at lots of different dogs, we came upon this cutie pie! She and her brother were left at the pound and we decided she would be a great little dog. We had already come up with a name and we still gave it to her even though she was a girl:

Hello Newman Weinreb
(yes, we like Seinfeld)

Here is Newman as a puppy. Seriously, could she be any cuter?

Lounging away on the couch...in her pre-shedding days.

Hiking

This past May 1st (Abby's designated b-day for Newman) we celebrated Newman's 12th birthday. It's hard to believe she is 12. Now I know she has got a lot of gray hair on her face but she's still a pretty spry girl. We got her some yummy treats and some wet dog food (gag!). What else does a girl need?!

Here we are singing Happy Birthday to Newman

A few things about Newman that I love:

*she loved to be held as a puppy
*she loves to sing when Abby plays the piano
*she loves pancakes
*she is great at helping clean up food messes
*she loves playing with the kids
*she loves belly scratches
*she chases after bunnies & squirrels
*she tolerated another puppy we had that would bite her legs until she bled
*defends our family from coyotes
*she snores & farts in her sleep-I don't love it but it's funny
*she wants to be near us at all times
*she protects us from the mean UPS & FedEx delivery men
*she lays down on the landing while the kids bathe and while they go to bed-she's their protector.

and finally
*she is the most self-sufficient dog. ever.

A quick story to illustrate this point: I was making pancakes and I gave her one thinking she would take it somewhere and slowly eat it. Instead, she nearly swallowed it whole. She looked at me with panic in her eyes because she was choking on the pancake. She knew what she had to do. Puke. However, instead of leaving a mess for me to clean up, she ran down the stairs, out her dog door and into the backyard where she did her puking then came back in. Seriously, what other dog does that?!

Happy Birthday Newman
We love you!