Meet Max, the new man in my life

My main man and I have been talking about getting a dog for a while now. I'm at home a lot on my own, and we've both always been dog people. For a couple of years we've been looking at breed information, trying to work out what sort of dog would suit us. We started out desperately wanting an English Staffordshire Terrier - and we may still get one once we have become more expert fur parents! - but then we went on holidays at Christmas and spent some time with my brother-in-law's dog, Sammy.

Sammy is a Bichon Frise Poodle cross - ridiculously white and fluffy and cute. Exactly the sort of dog I always swore I'd never have (come on, romance writer with a small fluffy white dog? Next I'll be wearing nothing but pink and lying on a chaise lounge eating bon-bons all day and dictating my next book...) This preconception died a quick death when I saw how damn cool Sammy was first hand. At the beach, he took off like a fluffy little rocket, bolting along, his feet barely touching the ground. He was friendly, non-aggressive, incredibly affectionate. My husband fell in love with him.

Never one to let an opportunity slip through my fingers, I capitalised on this love by hunting for Bichon/Poodle crosses the moment we came home. They were hard to come by, however, and I realised it was going to be a waiting game. In the meantime, I puppy-proofed the house, finally getting around to installing door handles on the wardrobe and room doors we painted six months ago. I am very fond of my shoe collection, you understand.

In my searching on the internet, I discovered miniature labradoodles, and, through them, Cavoodles. This is a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - a very loving, docile breed recommended for older pet owners - and a poodle, which is widely acknowledged as one of the smartest dog breeds. Everything we read about Cavoodles was encouraging, and then we discovered that a breeder who was highly recommended had some puppies. The result is below.

[image error]Meet Max! He is 8 weeks old, very cuddly, very delightful. He sleeps through the night like a good boy and is slowly becoming more bold and interested in our back yard. He was a little fussy with his food initially, but the raw beef mince we gave him last night went over a treat, so I have finally found something he loves. Phew!

My favorite moments so far are when I stretch out on my big chaise lounge (yes, I know, dangerously close to that cliche) and read a book with him snuggled on my chest or under my arm. He loves to burrow close and snuggle up. Sigh.

Puppy love: I highly recommend it!

PS. If you're looking for book info, here's the down low: More Than One Night is out in March, available early at Harlequin.com in February. Within Reach is out in August, and Suddenly You will be out in November. Cover art will be displayed as soon as I get my hot little hands on it, and next post I'll give you a run down on the outlines for those last two books. Until then, happy reading!

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