So you could say my interest in the corgi breed began about six years ago, when I first saw Cowboy Bebop. Ein was naturally my favorite character, not only for his wit and charm, but because he was an animal, and I was an avid animal lover already, so that made him number one in my book! I never really researched the breed, considering I was still living with parents and I knew they wouldn't permit a kid to get a dog all of their own.

When I started going to college, though, I knew that I wanted a Pembroke Welsh Corgi upon graduating. And I made that dream a success when I put a deposit down on a puppy shortly before my graduation this past year. In fact, Merriam was born two days before I graduated from college.

Initially, I wanted a tri-color, simply because I like the color variation that can exist. I knew I wanted a girl, though, as I have always liked female dogs better and have had some bad experiences with marking/aggression issues in male dogs that my family has owned. Although I know this wouldn't necessarily be true with a male corgi - and in fact, I have heard that sometimes females can have more problems than males in the breed - I still felt biased toward females. There was one female tri-color in my pup's litter, but she was already spoken for, so I ended up choosing Merriam instead, the runt of the litter.

Which turned out to be the best decision I have ever made. I'm glad I didn't get the tri-color, simply because Merri is such a great puppy. She is mostly well behaved, has very few issues with peeing in the house even at this young of an age (cross my fingers that she keeps it up), and seriously seems to already understand that going to the door means she is ready to go to the bathroom. She is also very vocal when she has a need (potty, water, food) so it is easy to get her outside before she has an accident. The only time she has had a problem was when someone who was supposed to be watching her looked away, or at night, when she still needs to go out once midway through sleep to empty her bladder. Which is understandable, given her age.

Every day it seems, she surprises me with how smart she is. I hope to get her started in flyball, agility, obedience, and herding when she gets older. Although all of that hinges on whether or not she has the personality and will to do the activities. Only time will tell!