[scooter729]

My heart goes out to anyone losing a beloved pet, as these guys really do become family members. Good luck Brian, and that picture of Sammie with the ice cream cone is precious.

Our "first-born" is my avatar, our 5-year old Wheaten Terrier, Murphy. When my wife became pregnant, we were nervous as to how Murph would react, as he's been the only one on the scene for five years. Little did we know how lucky we'd be, as Murphy has taken to being the ideal protective big brother!

Murphy will often sit and stand guard by his now 3-month old baby brother Alexander, enjoy licking a toe or two sometimes, and gets nervous if "strange people" (friends he doesn't recognize) come over and want to get close to the baby.

This has just made Murphy so much more important to us, and he is as much a member of the family as anyone else.