Ok. I will disclaim this entry with the fact that it may be schmaltzy even for me.  Jasper is doing great...beyond great.  So much so that I may start blogging about other items in addition to him soon.  But in the mean time, I thought I'd share the lyrics of an '80s song that popped into my head (and has not left) as we got home from our morning walk and he just turned around and grinned at me.  I know the lyrics apply to Jasper and I know they apply to so many of us in our human lives...I thank Maggie and PAWS Hancock for starting Japser on a new life path - they are miracle workers...I hope to continue his path and fill his life with love!

I Want To Know What Love Is
Foreigner

....In my life there's been heartache and pain
I don't know if I can face it again
Can't stop now, I've traveled too far
To change this lonely life

I want to know what love is
I want you to show me
I want to feel what love is
I know you can show me

I'm gonna take a little time
A little time to look around me
I've got nowhere left to hide
It looks like love has finally found me...

Well, like all new parents I now have a one track mind...my baby and what comes out of his "south end."  This evening, Jasper pooed for the first time since I got him.  He managed to unload over a quart of "used water" in the dining room last night...but this poo was a first and a huge win - I was very worried... Now that he has at least made the foray into "going" while in the city, surrounded by strange noise and smells from thousands of dogs, I am cautiously optimistic. 

He has made such incredible strides in the past 54 hours since he arrived in Chicago.  He now goes into and out of elevators with ease.  He walks/ runs with his head and tail up unless he is sniffing - when sniffing en route to the park I wonder that he doesn't get road rash on his nose!.  He has made a ton of friends, both human and canine, in the park. 

He is already a different dog from Saturday.  That night we went to the park and he sort of shied away from other people.  Now?  It is totally clear to him that people have been put in the park for his pleasure/enjoyment and it is merely up to him to choose the next person on which to lavish his affections.  That includes guys running and folks on bikes.  Mostly though, it is the girls in the park who are the winners.  I'm not jealoues when he does that...really, I'm not!

Tonight we played kickball with a two year old and his nanny.  Unfortunately, the little boy wanted to see how far he could kick and Jasper has a 6 foot leash - guess how much sprinting I did?  Freakin' FloJo if I do say so myself.  It is a real challenge to run fast enough with a 10 month old pup on a short leash with a choke collar.  We seriously had a blast and Jasper and I collapsed at about the same time...ok, I dropped first but only marginally!

I also found a very cool young lady to be his dog walker in the afternoon.  She will start with him tomorrow and I can't wait.  She clearly "gets" dogs and Mr J was clearly in luuuv with her. 

Well, since pictures are worth a thousand words here he is:  www.flickr.com/photos/ushagupta  

Well, it's official - I am a Mommy!  My baby's name is Jasper and he is cute and sweet and gentle and pretty as can be!  My dad and I picked him up this morning from a shelter/farm in central IN.  I got to meet his wonderful foster mommy and daddy Maggie and Larry.  What amazing wonderful people!  Maggie helped Jasper to write me a Mother's Day card which included a lot of pics from when they first got him.  She included the card with all his vet records...What a WONDERFUL surprise - I totally teared up when I read it!

Jas did pretty well on the ride home.  He slept most of the way but woke up a few miles from my parents place - and vomited.  Poor baby...my car has sensitive brakes...I think the stop and go was a bit much for him.  He did much better on the ride from Munster to Chicago.  We went straight outside where Jasper saw his first CTA bus.  Not pretty.  Jasper hit the ground convinced the apocalypse was indeed upon us. 

The girls (Jodi, Kate, Susan, Jesse) came over tonight and had a surprise baby shower.  I took pics of the gifts which rather well covered the dining room table.  He loved and licked on all of them, but also showed a slightly worrisome affection for our glasses of chardonnay.  Each time someone poured a glass he was right there.  No worries, he got none...nor did my graceful boy knock any over!! 

After the girls left it was off to the park.  We ran around for a long time.  Not many/any other dogs, but plenty of "dog history" to sniff.

Guess you thought I'd never update this blog again.  I'll bet you even figured I forgot my user ID and password to even get on to the site (ok, so it took a few tries, who's counting?).  Well, I thought I'd update it with my big news.  No, it has nothing to do with work.  No, no philosopy today.  Not even an observation on life in general.  Just a simple statement:  By this time on Saturday, I'll be a mommy!!  Now, to answer the question that popped into *some* of your minds, no, I am not "knocked up" and yes, he has lots of fur.  And a tail, albeit a very short one (I hate people who think docking a tail for "aesthetics" is a good idea). 

I'd like to introduce the wonderful impending addition to my life:  a ~10 month old mixed-breed pup named Jasper.  Jasper is part Vizsla (Hungarian hunting hound) and his foster mommy says he is sweet and gentle as can be.  It sounds like until he met the kind folks at PAWS Hancock his life was hard. My goal is to make those months a distant memory.  Dad and I drive to central IN on Friday night and pick him up first thing Saturday. 

I am a combination of happy, nervous, ecstatic, nervous and, well, nervous. I take this responsibility so seriously.  I have shopped, scoped out parks, gotten a vet, bought dog tags, bought out most of the Schererville PetSmart...and I am sure I missed something.  I will try to upload a pic of this beautiful boy below.  If I fail, I'll call Becky or Sharon for "blogging 101."

Enjoy and plan on many more updates...and remember, going forward if you plan to read this blog?  MUST LOVE DOGS!!!!!

Hey kids!  Happy Fourth of July!!! 

You know what they say about Chicago, "don't like the weather, just wait five minutes!"  Our true "blue" politics may not change (thankfully), but the temps on the lakefront sure do! Well, today i spent a lovely day sunning and chatting on my friend's roofdeck...burning and sweating up a storm...well, sho-nuf by the time we showered and went for dinner, winds changed and were now off the lake...talk about going from 90 to 65 in a few!!!  we couldn't decide where to eat so we flipped a coin.  Dick's on the Docks won....let's just say I am taking a HOT bath before steppin out onto the deck for the fireworks - dang!!!  Just like northern New England (without the cheap lobster!). 

Spent a lovely weekend in IN with ma and pa - very relaxing and fun.  Did some shopping, cooking (made this awesome fat-free shrimp salad) and reading....Installed DSL for our good friends - now they are surfing the net at (nearly) LightSpeed - Sharon, I am leaving it to you to get them and my parents to truly ligthspeed!!!!

Not much insightful to say tonight - I remain proud to be a first-generation American.  Happy, happy 4th to all - particularly to two very special new young ladies (Julia and Maya) - may you grow to love this place as much as the rest of us do!!!!!

Well....I figured that I couldn't let a year go by since my last post....but was sort of holding out to post again on the anniversary of my first post - July 4th.  But as we all know life doesn't ever turn out how you plan....

For those of you who are sports fans, you may already know this - today the world of college football lost a damn fine coach and an even better human being.  Randy Walker, coach of my beloved Wildcats passed away at home last night of an apparent heart attack.  He was 52. 

I could wax poetic about his accomplishments on the field...settng the standard for running the spread offense; turning a perrenial doormat into a Big Ten contender; finding those recruits that everyone else overlooked but in whom he saw something special....but instead i think I'll focus on something more important - Coach as a person. 

You see, that is what made him special and different.  The way he embraced the ideals of the smallest and only private school in the Big Ten yet believed that we could win, and win, and win.  The way he realized that the important part of the phrase "student-athlete" was the "student" part.  The way he'd stop and chat, no matter what else he had going on, or how inane the conversation.

I spoke with Coach once - at a Kentucky Derby party this year.  He had the grave misfortune of being cornered by me when I was well into my second mint julep.  I gushed about what he did for the school, the players and the alumni.  I tried to gush on the spread offense (which all of y'all who know me know I can do quite well if even remotely sober).  Though i probably didn't make too much sense, and sounded much more a fool than I really am on football, he smiled, replied, told me about the upcoming season...fortunately for him his wife Tammy came and very politely rescued him from my clutches. 

I mourn the loss of our Coach, and I feel the deepest sadness for his family.  If you see this, send a prayer their way - I know they can use it right about now....