Introducing Dexter!
This is our new puppy. When we picked him up, he looked like a muppet due to severe neglect (there's some nasty mats underneath all those cute curls). His first haircut revealed that he is actually a poodle.

Right now we are working on (a) fattening him up (he weighs 9.6 lbs and should be at least 13), (b) teaching him to kennel on command, and (c) assuring him that the world is not all dangerous and scary and what-not. Progress is as follows:

(a) He is a finicky eater so fattening him up has been difficult. We made some fancy concoction out of raw hamburger, oats, pumpkin, gelatin, and molasses...he likes that a lot, but it causes some nasty dog farts. The vet gave him some paste that is designed to stimulate the appetite of anorexic cats. Gross. He also likes cheese and hot dogs, but I question the nutritional value of both.

(b) He remains wary of the kennel, but does not whine excessively.

(c) His tail used to be tucked in between his legs constantly, and now it is out around 80% of the time...not bad progress for one week.

We are also working on peeing outside the house, but that has made a recent regression...thank god we don't have carpet.