Meet Katniss

She wakes me up at 5 or 6 a.m. daily, sometimes earlier, without fail. She has more energy than a room full of kindergartners shotgunning Red Bull. She has a high-pitched, tea kettle whistle-like whine that she employs the minute she wants something–it’s so obnoxious that I often hear it in my head even when I’m not around her. Her nearly insatiable thirst is likely partly to blame for the drought here in Central Texas. Walking her while leashed can at times be like trying to pull a jumbo jet with your pinkie toe. She’s sometimes afraid of the floor downstairs. She can be quieted immediately if I pick her up and hold her like a baby. She likes to take socks and be chased around the house until we catch her—I sometimes refer to her as the International Sock Bandit.

My dog, and the star of this blog, Katniss, is a 1-year-old, 40-pound German shepherd/lab mix (we think) who is at once my best friend and a constant source of exhaustion and frustration. I would likely be much more well-rested and saner without her, yet I wouldn’t want a life that didn’t include my little buddy.

This blog is an attempt to chronicle life with a beast, who, as my wife says, “can’t stop, won’t stop,” and the little things, which are numerous, she has taught me so far. Fair warning: I may veer off topic from time to time, but it’s my blog so I’ll do whatever I want.

Also, I’m somewhat sure the more linguistically accurate name for this blog would be “A Guero (white boy) and His Perra” (perro = male dog, perra = female dog—right?), but “guero” and “perro” rhyme pretty well and my Spanish is horrible at best. This possible inaccuracy will likely be an itch I can’t stop scratching, however.

Anyway, I am new to this blog thing, so bear with me.

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