Seven ways Rayna is like a Golden Retriever

1.  She loves people.  All people.  She has only ever met friends, never strangers.
2.  She gets all excited whenever someone comes home.  Her squealing and running to hug and greet us reminds me a lot of rapid tail-wagging.
3.  She wants affection often.  In the middle of random activities, she'll stop and ask for a hug, or sometimes just come up and start rubbing our arms or whatever.
4.  Her least favorite thing these days is for our family to be split up.  Every morning she asks me the comings and goings of everyone, and is only satisfied when everyone will be home in the evening.  (I remember our golden retriever, Jenny, really not liking the family to separate at all, too.  When we would go for a walk, if someone started heading off in the opposite direction, she would sit down and refuse to move until we all started going together!)  Rayna's favorite words these days are "The WHOLE family."
5.  She is very eager to please, and anticipate our needs.  Her mind is working all day, watching what we're doing to see what we'll need next.  Just now she saw me go sit down at the computer, and she brought me a glass of water because she knows I usually carry one with me!  I almost expect her to run and get Daddy's slippers and newspaper when he walks through the door each evening.  :)
6.  The highlight of her day is DINNER.  Each morning, after she finds out who will be home when, the next most popular question she asks is "What are we having for dinner?"  It's also her favorite topic of conversation with anyone outside the family, as anyone who has ever talked to her probably knows.  She usually wants the other person's meal summary for the day.
7.  She says things the way I would picture a dog might, if he could talk.  For instance the other day when there was chicken cooking on the stove, she said,  "That gorgeous smell sounds delicious!"

We love the fun dimensions Rayna brings to our family!