Paris-Brest-Paris is a long-distance bicycling event. Specifically, it is the crown jewel in the sport of randonneuring. I don’t know why I became enthralled by it, but I’ve decided to attempt to conquer PBP next year.

Sandy (along with Haley and I) met Midge, Trey and Elonna’s chocolate lab, last November. It was a beautiful fall day with lots of zoomies to go around. Sandy looked quite big compared to this tiny puppy, but hopefully she realizes that before she knows it, Midge will be towering over her.

I can’t believe Sandy turned 1 last week! She’s grown up so fast. She’s gone from a teeny tiny 10 pounds when we got her that was more than happy to be picked up with one hand, to this young lady who squirms and feels way more than 36 pounds as you try to corral her to go to bed. She’s been healthy and warm hearted, which is all we can ask for.

This past May the Merlo clan camped at the Mohawk State Forest. Much fun was had hiking and playing and being with family. I snuck in an ambitious bike ride (was hoping to get all the way into Vermont but the Berkshire climbs are no joke), and Sandy did really well on her first nights camping.

We had the pleasure of watching some quality fall ball on October 9th as Paxton’s Cubs took on the Rockies in Boxborough. We weren’t 100% sure who won, but everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. Our favorite plays were the pig piles when a ball landed between multiple fielders. Paxton got to show off his wheels as well as playing some quality first base!

This past month started off with a bang, spending the weekend in NH with Trey and Elonna along with my parents. The fall foliage was in full force, with Sandy taking in the views from North and Middle Sugarloaf peaks.

Sandy is a woman! She just started her heat and has been acting quite differently over the past week plus. First she was scared of other dogs, now all she wants to do is find a mate! Thankfully she’s kept her innocence so no puppies for Sandy. We can now confidently schedule her surgery for early December to get spayed.

Sandy had quite the month. It started out with a bang, as she met up with her sister Ruby for some fun playtime at Maudslay State Park. She’s basically a regular at Barewolf Brewery in Amesbury. Then the next week we were all down the cape with the rest of the Merlos. She played a ton with her pal Tucker, and her fun-size cousins, Hadley and Paxton. Lots of sand, beaches, and water (and still scared of waves). Barely had the energy for sunrise hikes, but had plenty of energy to jump up on…

This past weekend, Sandy reunited with her long lost (ok, not quite, they’ve been instagram friends since day 1…) littermate, Ruby! They had soooo much fun running around and playing with each other. Hopefully Sandy can learn some of Ruby’s best behaviors, like being an angel off leash and giving plenty of kisses!

Sandy had quite a few visitors this past month, as the humans went down the cape for 2 long weekends, meaning Gabby then Addie each had this fur monster for awhile. All reports were that she was very good, though some of her “perks”, like not finishing her food and needing to smell all the smells and lay down in the middle of road on walks, are not unique to just us.