We lost a puppy this morning. I went down to feed the litter and while three of them were active, the fourth was just lying there seemingly asleep. Puppies do sleep a lot, but they almost always sleep in groups. If they're active, they're all supposed to be active, so I knew right away something was wrong.

I picked her up; she was still warm and gave a little grunt to let me know she was alive. I got J and in a hurry she bundled the dog up and took off for the vet, on the other side of town. The pup died before she got there.

The vet thinks the mother may have sat on her last night. We'll probably never know what happened, but we're keeping an eye on the other three just to make sure it wasn't viral. Parvo is a very real danger for puppies and can wipe out an entire litter.

This is also one of the reasons I don't take too much time to bond with the puppies. J's naturally upset. At 5 weeks old, she'd gotten attatched. She also had to inform the woman who was going to take the puppy what happened. I don't envy her that at all.

I feel like I could go for a drink but I still haven't figured out what places are good to go around in town yet. I need to start spending more time out meeting some people and getting a feel for the area. I've done a lot of driving and exploring but not a lot of socializing.

I'm also still refining my plans for what I'll do when the season ends. I'm decided on staying in New Hampshire for a while, at least. Talked with my friend Bill who's lived in Vermont for several years now; not only is he thrilled to have an old friend in the area but is also excited to help get me into deer hunting. The deer season ended yesterday, but there's always next year.