Professor Ella M. Rion, Department of Anthropology

I grew up with cats, not dogs.

And a happy cat person I was.  Never much desiring a dog.  Always happy to have purring felines on my lap.

That is, until, David came into my life and began to express his desire for a dog.  In the future.

Before long, I found myself wanting a dog too.

Afterall, dogs are more affectionate than cats

(except Maxyponous Rex who is the most lovey cat on earth);

they are a wo(man)’s best friend.

And so, a dog we got.

But not just any dog.

This dog:

And although she used up every morsel of patience I had during her first few months with us and although she still wakes up four times in the middle of the night on occasion and barks incessantly at nothing at all, she also looks like this:

Who could be angry at that?

And she has cuddled and kissed and loved her way into the deepest recesses of my heart.

ps:  The subject line of this post is a reference to this picture which David and I agreed made Ella look quite studious indeed.