Some of my friends have children... we get a dog. Very similar, except slightly more furry. I think my mother would have preferred we had a less furry baby (...I know! You never bother me about this, Mom!), however this is going to have to do for now.
Milo is a 6 year old Shetland Sheepdog that we adopted through a local rescue group, Triangle Sheltie Rescue. He's a blue merle, which is a mutation on the tricolor background that causes this gray mottled phenotype. And if you didn't know I was a genetics nerd, you do now. I wonder if its an epigenetic mutation? I've tried to look this up but I haven't found any real detailed information about the nature of the merle gene. Again, more confirmation of that whole genetics nerd thing, in case you weren't convinced.
Anyhow!
The cat army is adjusting okay to the new addition to the house. Cherry and Alton don't seem too afraid anymore, and even Beamish is coming out from under the bed on a regular basis. The only one who seems completely unaffected is Smokey, and I'm pretty sure thats only because she a) is blind and b) spends 99.5% of her time sitting on the back of the couch where Milo can't get to her.
We were amazed to find out how many breed rescue groups there are. TSR is just for shelties in NC. These are dogs that are found in shelters or surrendered by their owners who just don't want them anymore. Or, to be fair, are somehow physically unable to care for them. It shocks me that whoever owned Milo gave him up after almost 6 years with him, because they were moving. I know people who have moved here from overseas and brought their dogs with them. I can't imagine not doing everything I could to keep a loyal companion.
And Milo is a loyal companion. He follows me around Every. Where. I. Go. He sits by the door when I leave the house and waits for me to come home. I think he's become more attached to me than Brian, because I spent most of his first week with us at home with him, while I was working on my thesis.
To be fair, I must also post a picture of one of the cats. Equal time and all.
So here's Cherry.
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