Thanks for all of the kind words. I'm going back out to the shelter today to walk/play with him. Yesterday, when I first met him, I had to wait to get close enough to the display area because so many people were there. He'd been lying down on his dog bed just kind of watching everyone. When I finally got close enough he jumped up, cocked his head to one side and started waggin' his tail as if to say "I've been waiting for you. What the heck took you so long?"

There's just one snag in the process: verification that the landlord said it was ok to have him. I gave them a note from him but when checking the city's homeowner database it showed (inexplicably) that my old landlord still owned the building (the new one bought it a year ago.) I spoke to him when I got back home yesterday (he has an apartment in the building) and he said he'd talk to them.

Now I have a list of things my dog owning friends have told me I should have. I feel like an expectant parent putting together a nursery.