Puppy love

The neighbor's dog, whom we call Shortlegs (the dog, not the neighbor), always knows within a day when we are back home in Kansas and comes to visit. He'll hang around the whole time we're there, wagging happily and using the front yard as a base camp for barking at any truck that goes by. This time when he came to visit he brought a new friend.

What a little cutie.  This is one of those faces that melts your heart, even as it is chewing your shoelaces to bits.

I seriously thought about kidnapping him and bringing him back to Oklahoma, but since we were headed from Kansas to Arkansas for a kayak trip (more on that in the days to come), I wasn't sure I could keep him in the boat.  He has every puppy attribute I know: chewing, romping, chewing, chasing, chewing, wrestling, chewing. It was hard to get him to be still long enough to get a picture.

But how can anyone not love those eyes?  That exuberance for life?  That free-spirit? Unknown parentage, unknown name, I shall call him Lovey.