Have you ever had one of those “What were you thinking?!” moments?

I seem to have them quite frequently lately, and the cause is a small, black and white fur ball named Sophie.

Her full name is Sophia Lauren Reed — the middle name is helpful when using my angry voice — Sophie for short. She is a six-month-old Japanese Chin – Yorkie mix, and she is totally, unequivocally nuts.

She came about because of a true case of puppy fever. My sister had just gotten a new puppy. My mom had gotten a new puppy a few months earlier, and my brother got his puppy a few months before that. They were all completely different, but completely lovable pooches. My dog, Pepper, a wonderful miniature schnauzer of 14, had died about a year or so earlier. While I could never replace her, I missed having a dog around the house. Wouldn’t a little puppy be sweet? That argument worked well with my husband, and Sophie came home with us a couple of months ago.

I haven’t had a puppy in a long time, but I’m sure I remember it being much easier. Surely, my beloved Pepper never had accidents on the carpet, never chewed on the furniture when we weren’t looking, never ate homework, chewed up our shoes or got into the garbage, right? Pepper would never find my husband’s wallet on the night stand, open it up and chew up his brand new bank card, and only his bank card, would she?

Well, Sophie would. Yep, she’s annoying as all get out. But what a sweet, innocent face she has. She’s inquisitive, she’s energetic, she runs like the wind across our back yard, and she snuggles up with us at night. I don’t have puppy fever any more, but a full blown case of puppy love.

-Kathy Reed, editor