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Dear Rebekah,

My best wishes to you and your husband.

I am writing to ask you for your help. Nathaniel as you may or may not know
has moved into 174 School Street. Nathaniel and I would like to get a dog.
Our experiuence with dogs, to put it mildly, is more limited than yours.

My questions are: What breed of dog should we get? Should it be an old dog
or a young dog? Should we accept a dog as a gift from a pound, or should
we buy a dog, if so from whom? Would it be possible - and permissible -
for you to function as a "dog broker" and negotiate a purchase for us?
There will obviously be much information in the Library and on the Internet
about how to train a dog. Have you recommendations or advice?

Once Nathaniel and I have acquainted ourselves with our potential obligations
to the new canine family member, but before we actually commit ourselves to
its acquisition, I propose to keep a diary for one or two weeks, or
for however long it takes to become confident of our ability to manage.
This diary would record how Nathaniel and I actually spend our days,
and how the hypothetical prospective dog would fit into out schedule -
or how we would fit into the dog's schedule. I propose to ask you to
review our data from the dog's point of view, and advise us what changes
in our lifestyle the dog requires.

Please feel free, rather than writing, to reply by telephone, 617-489-1043
or (cell) 617-548-5768; if on the other hand, you choose not to become our
consultant, please be assured that my feelings will not be hurt and my love
for you will not be impaired.

Jochen