Kat you might be able to train the puppy as a working dog for Grace.

I had a couple in the store a few weeks ago with a really cute little service dog. While talking to them I found out the husband had mysteriously lost his hearing in both ears, he woke up one morning and couldn't hear. They already had a small dog so they worked on training him to be a service dog. He wasn't a big dog but the wife said that 1) they hadn't wanted to get a new dog and 2) they couldn't get a big dog anyway because they need a dog they could carry if necessary and they both had back/hip issues that prevented them from doing that.

he woke up one morning and couldn't hear

Wait, what? Christ, here's another thing for me to add to my Hypochondriac's List of Things to Worry About.

those puppies are crazy cute! Franny will squeal when I show them to her

Choice: Work through the desperate need for sleep to finish rewriting these awful award nominations for work, OR, set alarm for 4am, in work by 6am, and do them in the relative peace and quiet of the office before people begin crawling up my ass all day.

Allyson, when I face those kinds of choices, I ask myself which I'm more likely to actually do.

I'd probably stay up late to do the awards, because otherwise I'd just fret about them anyway. But I'm a champion level fretter.

I am for sleeping when you need to sleep, although that isn't always possible. I hope whichever way you went works out ok, Allyson.

I woke up early in a panic about a work thing I should have dealt with yesterday, left home a little early (because of course I also puttered around the house for extra time), and had a perfect commute! The bus was right there when I got to the stop, and then it was too full to let anyone else on, so we made record time. I was door-to-door in as little time as it ever takes, even in good weather. Sweet.

Of course, then no one I needed was here yet, but still! I am TCB.

My favorite story about a cat choosing her human -- When we were volunteering, the shelter had a tabby cat named Fifa. Fifa had been an office cat, so named because she had been found during the World Cup. When her office closed, Fifa ended up in our shelter. But she wasn't used to other cats (especially in a group setting), and she developed fear aggression. After a lot of work from volunteers, she calmed down somewhat, but she was still very shy and had aggressive tendencies.

One day, an elderly woman came by, looking to adopt an older tabby. We had quite a few tabbies, including some in the age range she wanted. Fifa jumped to the floor, curled around her legs, and did all those other things that say, "I've found my human." So, even though Fifa was a little younger than the woman was looking for, she adopted Fifa.

Puppies!

Also, congratulations sj.

I am tired & crampy & cranky and filled with Don'tWanna. Bah. Off to work I go.