Late last year, our sweet Rufus got seriously ill -- so seriously ill that we had to put him down. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done, and I swore that it would be a very, very, very long time before I'd ever get a dog again.

Fast forward to last week: I was over at my friend Katherine's house, playing with her dog in her kitchen while she made us coffee, when she suddenly gasped.

"Hey, you're not in the market for a dog, are you?"

I hesitated. "Why?"

"Well, my neighbour is fostering the CUTEST dog I have EVER SEEN. I want her myself, she's so perfect, but we can't handle two dogs. And I desperately want someone cool to get her. You want to go take a look?"

"I ... uh ... um ..."

"Come on. Let's go take a look. You're going to love her."

We walked a few doors down, and Katherine knocked on the door. It opened, and the woman behind smiled at Katherine.

"Karen! You're home!" exclaimed Katherine. "This is my friend ... also Karen. And I told her about the dog you were fostering. And I think Karen would be a perfect owner."

"Oh, nice to meet you!" said Karen. "Come in!"

I came in, and this little face came bounding up:

"Oh my God," I breathed. I sat down on the floor, and she came right up to me, kissed me on the nose, and curled up in my lap.

Katherine and Karen laughed.

I looked up at them with wild eyes.

"I have to have her," I said.

Turns out that she's not available for adoption for a few weeks -- her pelvis is injured (although imperceptible to the naked eye), and she's convalescing. However, as circumstances would have it, Karen and her family were scheduled to travel for two weeks, and with the consent of the amazing Houston SPCA, she arranged to have us petsit her while they're away. So Friday, she came to our house.

She's only 7 months old, but so far, she's been a dream. In fact, it's only been 2 days, and I'm sort of blown away by this dog. She's gentle, and sweet-natured, and incredibly calm, and so easy. She's obedient and playful, and she's taken to our family almost seamlessly. She's been so lovely, in fact, I'm not entirely sure she's a dog.

I think she might be a cyborg.

Anyway, at the end of two weeks, she'll go back to her foster family for the remainder of her foster term. And then, assuming the paperwork goes through and there aren't any hiccups, we'll adopt her.

And she'll be called "Soca." (We decided to go Trini with our name this time. It just seemed right.)

Song: Vibes cyah done by Machel Montano