...Thought it was time to send you an update on Doug (the new love of my life).......am thinking perhaps that the name change to Doug (as suggested by my daughter Devon and in honour of my husband's best friend), might not have been the best idea.....there have been slightly embarassing moments when I have loudly pronounced "Doug and I are going to bed now" and early on, caused raised eyebrows amongst acquaintances when I have gushed "I just lo-o-o-v-v-v-e Doug"......
...anyway, Doug has settled in and taken over the house, and is an absolute joy......he has had no problem adapting to our homemade food and biscuits, loves the offleash park in front of our house and the gopher holes in the  field behind our house....he has bonded primarily with Rod as he is home most of the time and is also the one who tends to walk off the beaten path and therefore provides a little more adventure than I do.....initially it took a bit of effort to get Doug to walk more than a city block....he is the most sedentary Airedale I've ever encountered.....his FAVOURITE thing is riding in the van....whenever we head out the front door he trots to the van and sits waiting for us to open the back door and seems a little disappointed when we are actually going for a walk.