We've adopted!

His name is Pañuelito (little napkin)

Here's his happy mom, Heather

and his happy aunt, Mary

and his extended family

On the whole, the adoption process has been a good one. Pañuelito is an excellent walker and inspires love in everyone, including the neighbourhood girls, who haven't left the property in two weeks except to eat and sleep. Niko and his friend from the mainland even built him a doggy cabaña in the backyard, so filled with love were they.

But his presence has also brought us into contact with the dark side of Isabela. First, there was the woman that showed up claiming Pañuelito was hers. We discovered that the grandmother next door, who had sold Heather the dog for $20, had in fact gotten it from a gang of puppy-stealing delinquents. Fortunately, the doggy cabaña and our faces convinced the original owner that Pañuelito was in a good home, so she left him free of charge. The grandmother eventually refunded the ill-gotten money. This is also the grandmother that poisoned Niko's cat, it is said.

Then there are the neighbourhood girls--in particular, the twins and Melisa. Over the last two weeks, we have gotten rather close. Heather lets them bathe the puppy and take him for walks, and I give them painting and drawing supplies. We even have a muralla de arte (art wall) covered with their creations. In return, they tell us about life, which for them includes motherless upbringings, drunken relatives, fights, and a general lack of attention (this would be the island's dark side). The littlest one, Melisa, pretends she can't hear us when we say it's time to go.

In short, we adopted more than we thought.