While Ben has a [beautiful daughter][1] to take photos of, play with at the park, and watch grow up and head off to prom, I don’t. So, I’m getting a dog to do those things.

Since I have another [37 lbs to go][2], I’m taking the time to do a little research into what type of dog I might be interested in. I’m even learning a few things along the way, like [the suggestion that humans may have a bit better of an understanding of the intent behind a dog’s bark than we thought][3]:

Researchers played a collection of barks to a group of people. Regardless of whether they owned a dog or not, most people could tell from a bark whether a dog was alone or being approached by a stranger, playing or being aggressive.

It’s crazy to think that for all these years, dogs have been communicating to us knowing we would understand, even if we didn’t suspect it.

[1]: http://brooksreview.net/2012/05/gx1-update/
[2]: http://hundreddown.net/show/3
[3]: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-are-dogs-saying-when-they-bark