Our Two Pups

Panda this evening -- picture taken by Scott with his new loaner phone. Looks like she's been tearing up some paper, a frequent problem.

Panda hoping someone is up for a game of 1-2-3 with her omnipresent tennis ball.

Panda will just hold onto the ball in case someone wants to play later.

Sherpa, naturally modest, wonders why anyone would want her picture.

Sherpa curled for a nap.

At our house we have two dogs: Sherpa, who will be ten years old on Oct. 23, and Panda, who will be a year old in November. Both female shih-tsus, they look a lot alike, but Sherpa is definitely more refined and dignified and Panda is more of a ballhog ruffian. They are both huge distractions around the house because they are so adoreable (to us, their family members, that is.)

Shih-tsus make wonderful pets. They rarely bark - only to sound the alarm that someone is approaching our house or that a plane has crossed over the airspace of the back yard. They tolerate a degree of hair and tail pulling by small children. They are also affectionate and independent. We had no idea how wonderful shih-tsus were when we bought Sherpa on the basis of her cuteness alone.

The only drawback is that they require grooming, which can get expensive when multiplied by two. I bought a kit to do it myself, and these pictures reveal that I am still very much on the learning curve. Both dogs are half groomed. Panda's eyes at least have been cleared for better visibility. She has a true bottle-brush nose and when her bangs are long, you almost can't tell one end of her from the other.

I used to be a big dog snob. I didn't think I would like a small breed. Since then I've discovered that dogs come in all diferent sizes on the inside -- some small dogs think they are large and some large dogs think they are small. I've almost never met a dog I didn't like.