Merlin is an amazing dog. Maxine, or Max as we usually call her, our 10-year-old lab, was a bit jealous of him at first, but her haughty attitude didn't bother Merlin. I'm not even sure if he noticed. He bounced around her until she finally surrendered to his friendliness.

Now they are the best of friends. Their favorite games are tug-of-war and another game I call ping-pong. Merlin pretends to be a ping-pong ball and Max tries to catch him as he whirls around her.

Our cat, Chaos, hasn't quite capitulated to Merlin's charms, but she is a bit bewildered by him. He doesn't act like a proper dog should. He stands in front of the cat and stares at her, as if he is trying to figure out what strange breed of dog she is, which Chaos doesn't like at all. She reacts in a predictably catty way, by hissing at him. This always prompts Merlin to give her a sloppy kiss (I don't think he likes for anyone to be upset.) Chaos never knows how to react to a kiss, and she usually stalks off to look for her tattered dignity.

 He no longer tears pillows apart, steals the toilet paper, the bathtub plug, or my hairbrush, though we are still working on stopping a few bad habits, such as jumping up on people and grabbing our arm or hand in his mouth when one of us arrives home. I think that may be herding dog behavior, because he seems to be trying to keep us by his side.
And although Chaos may not admit it yet, he has found a place in all of our hearts.