Early in 2011 we decided it was time for a new dog. Dixie had been holding her own for over a year, and now we needed to begin a new transition.

After completely fencing Cactus Hill to make it a safe haven, we went to Bastrop Animal Shelter one Saturday in February. Back in the kennels, a brouhaha erupted as one dog was being led down the center aisle and back to his pen, and all the other residents were barking like mad at his passage. Except for this one sweet, quiet guy in the pen right next to us. Instead of focusing on the fuss, he put his paws up on the fence and looked straight at us. And that's all she wrote. We took him outside on a leash for a short time, and then Chris went in to take care of the paperwork while Ed fell further in love with Teddy, as we'd already named him. At home, Dixie thoroughly approved of our choice. She taught Teddy the Cactus Hill way of doing things, and then she graciously stepped aside and let him be the alpha dog. And our new fence? Forget about it. Teddy has a little Great Pyrenees in him, and no fence is too tall to climb. Like all our previous dogs, he roams the neighborhood, spends too much time in the road, and always comes back home. He is sweet, beautiful, smart, and loving.