Greetings, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! This year there are no exciting trips to Japan, Australia, or Thailand to speak of. This year is ALL about the Airedales! Meet the two newest members of the Karpinski household: Ruby (in red of course) and Simon (in the latest style of antler).

They were both adopted from an organization called S.W.A.T South West Airedale Terrier made up of a dedicated group of big-hearted volunteers that work with others across the country to ensure Airedales in need of homes not only find a home but find the right owner.

When we showed interest in adopting one of these loves, I was immediately asked Have you ever owned an Airedale in the past? Funny question, I thought. How hard is it to own a dog? My friend Rose, one of the coordinators for S.W.A.T., suggested we do some reading on the breed first so we did. Basic Airedale characteristics: larger breed, high energy, good for children twelve and older, they're not good with cats, and they don't shed. Perfect! So what's the big deal?

Homework done I again approached Rose with the notion of offering our home to one of their homeless. The next step was paperwork. We had to answer questions like we were adopting a human baby! (Name each member that lives in the home. Who else comes to visit? What hours do you work? Name pets you've had in the past? How did they die?) How did they die? Is starvation a bad answer? Just kidding. So we thoughtfully completed the paperwork without question and began to understand this was a little more involved of a process than going to the pound and picking one out.

Ok, now we get a dog right? Wrong. Next step was the home inspection. Airedale Rescue comes into each home and basically grades you on whether the environment is suitable for this breed. (No wonder Airedales have attitudes!) After Rose's visit we were told our carpet would be ruined, we needed a doggie-door, our fence needed to be reinforced so a dog couldn't dig its way out, just to name a few things we needed to do to prepare for an adoptee. I thought we had failed the test for sure.

Somehow or another we were deemed worthy enough for Simon, an eight-year old from Texas whose owner gave him up because she didn't like him anymore. More human than canine, Simon was a perfect gentleman that would probably be more comfortable in a smoking jacket sitting in front of the fire than in his doggie bed on the floor. We waited for a year and watched, expecting at any moment we would have to drive him back to Rose's house. But he didn't bark when the doorbell rang or destroy any furniture and promptly put himself to bed at 9:30 every night. And they said owning an Airedale was tough! What's the big deal? Why not get Simon a buddy? We'll get another one!

I heard of a dog here in Phoenix whose owner had died, a six year-old named Ruby (also the name of my departed grandmother). It was a sign, I wanted her sight unseen. Ruby was our little project. She should have weighed somewhere around 65 pounds, however, when she waddled into our house (and I do mean waddled) she was more in the neighborhood of 85 pounds. Her previous owner used to feed her six cups of dog food (instead of two) AND if that were not enough melt cheese over the top!

After Ruby came into our home we saw what owning an Airedale was really like. We since have replaced all garbage cans with covered garbage cans because she is the queen of a term we learned is called dumpster diving. No sense in closing bedroom (or bathroom) doors because we've come home to find every closed door mysteriously open. And like Superman she counter surfs faster than a speeding bullet. I still remember turning around and seeing the blur of a dog running away from the kitchen with a loaf of bread in her mouth.

As if this were not enough, we started to see changes in our quite reserved gentleman Simon as well. He now followed Ruby's lead of barking when the doorbell rang. Ok we thought positive, so now it sounds like we have guard dogs. Then underwear started disappearing and reappearing in presents in the back yard. (Don't ask.) And the carefree walks looked more like a sled pull of 150 pounds worth of dog leading and the vague shape of a helpless woman in a cloud of dust, feet flying completely mid-air off the sidewalk. They're oblivious to pretty much all wildlife: birds, rabbits, coyote and havalina (wild pigs) but say Goodnight Gracie when approaching the house with the three little Bichon barking furballs! A flurry of running, pulling, most certainly barking, clawing, biting through the open fence ensues to get at the three-pound monsters on the other side.

Bill has said more than once that if Ruby had been adopted first, chances are there wouldn't have been a second Airedale at chez Karpinski. Of course, he says it with love because Ruby is his girl. Her eyes never leave him and she is on his heel the minute he leaves the room. I know he has left her inside without him when I hear her howl like a baby to be a minute away from him. She instantly wins you with the please-pet-me-paw move and the roll-over-and-scratch-my-belly move. And don't start petting her if you ever plan to stop, she won't let you with the head-under-your-hand move. She's a girl that knows what she wants and usually gets with a look that melts your heart.

We know you'd probably like to know more about the rest of the family, like how Emily continues to do fabulous in school getting straight A's and plays soccer in a league like a pro. And Bill is still dedicated to his career at American Express and has recently gotten back to his love of music and guitar-playing again. And I have started a path towards a life-long dream of working with horses.

But really there is no us anymore, only Airedale (or so they think). Yes we love them. Yes we put up with their demands of being loved, fed and walked (pretty much in that order). Yes we would mortgage the house if anything ever happened to them. Yes they have forever changed our lives. And yes we wouldn't have it any other way.

Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a peaceful new year!

The Karpinskis
- Simon, Ruby (and oh yes Bill, Jodi & Emily)