Meet Spencer

Sadly, my mom's German Shepard, Star, at the ripe old age of 12 had to be sent to doggie heaven this past spring. She said she didn't want another dog, but I knew at some point she would change her mind.  After a few months, I told her about a special program that the North Shore Animal League had for Seniors - the "Seniors for Seniors" program allows those 60 years or older to adopt a dog that is at least one year old for free.  They also get yearly vaccinations and 2 groomings per year for free.  We went a few times, but didn't find a dog that fit the bill.  Then I read about a Puppy Mill rescue operation and that the dogs were being put up for adoption for first weekend in July, so we decided to go.  We saw this very skinny, very shy, white Havanese and after a while, she decided that he was the one.  At first, he was very stand-offish, as expected, since he was a rescue, but within a week he was house-trained and was very attached to my mom.  He is now home 6 weeks and is a different dog.  While still a little shy around new people, his hair is growing in nicely and he loves my mother to death (and vice versa).

Samantha - a senior already!?

Hard to believe, but Samantha will be starting her Senior year, and you know what that means...college!!  She has been talking (and ready) about colleges before she even started high school, so the time has finally arrived.  We started the search last summer with a trip to the DC area - looked at Georgetown (not impressed), Catholic University (nice) and Johns Hopkins (beautiful).  Also looked at Fordham (one of her top choices).  This summer we have visited: Vassar (another top choice), Marist (not for her), Siena (nothing special), Yale (her #1 choice), Harvard (did not like), Stony Brook (nice, but too big), Dartmouth (another top choice) and Stonehill (nice).  There are a few other schools that she will apply to, but won't visit, unless she needs to.  So, we shall see.  She is applying to Yale early action, so keep your fingers crossed that she does well on her SAT and ACT exams.  All coming up in Sept/Oct/Nov.  The next 8 months will be quite a ride!!!