Pushbutton. The newest member of the family. A bit hairy and slobbery, and a bit hard to handle when he gets overly excited and happy. But the more we get to know this little guy, the more we love him.

Pushbutton’s a Wheaten Terrier mix. His kind was bred to sniff out and destroy rats. He loves to stick his nose in our backyard’s chipmunk holes or leaf piles and “snoot around.” He’s prone to digging! And though he’s a year and a half old, he plays like a puppy.

The kids are slowly getting accustomed to his lively boisterousness.

He’s almost just like my childhood dog, Ariel. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons my radar led me straight to him when searching for our new family companion.

And yes, he’s taking up quite a bit of our time. It’s sort of like having a new baby in the house! But just one look at that precious little face makes it all worthwhile.

(And yes, the name Pushbutton was chosen by none other than our technical-minded G. :>)