Part 4 For at least the first few months we had Lola, we did nothing to train her. She was well-behaved already - she didn't chew anything up (well, a few teeth marks on the furniture legs), and she was completely housebroken - and we were wary of even raising our voices to her, lest she lose the precarious confidence that we were trying to encourage. Eventually, it became clear that she wanted nothing more than to please us, as she demonstrated on one of the last days I was working from home.
Part 3 I'm not sure when I started referring to pets as an extra heartbeat in the house, and I’m not sure where the thought came from, but it just seemed right. They are not people, for sure. I don’t harbor any such delusions, yet they are most certainly family. The heartbeat sounds out the presence of another life for which I am responsible. It is another source of warmth, a soothing rhythm, a bundle of energy, another creature with some level of thoughts and feelings who irrevocably changes the dynamic of the household.
Part 2 The adoption went smoothly, and Tim and I drove down from Maryland the following Saturday to pick Lola up. Erin met us outside her apartment building and walked the dog around the neighborhood one last time. In familiar territory, Lola was more confident and at ease. Around the back of the building was a large patch of English ivy that was apparently her favorite place. She bounded into it and rustled around playfully.
