Andi, I know what you mean! That's the hardest part about working from home with a dog nearby, napping in the sun. It's so tempting!

karendaisy17, living in the moment—that's a great way to sum up what it's like to observe your pet and learn something from it. Want to write a "learning to live in the moment" paragraph for me to add to this post? :) Regarding nicknames, I'll keep you posted. Q really likes to call her Mae-Mae. I call her Sweet Girl a lot.

Trina, yes, the prozac effect of having pets is kicking in! And yes, I read the article. So fascinating. Thanks for taking this pet-getting journey alongside me!

TJ, I grew up with dogs, but I wasn't very excited about having one in our home, either. I think the key is getting the *right* dog, and probably training it well (which we haven't done yet, obviously). If Maeve was really wild or destructive or demanding, I'm sure I would be writing a different kind of blog post. :)