I am a massive gearhead. Cars are my life. But, for the longest time, I have been missing something in my household. Today, that void has been filled.

Simon, at the time a 3 month old black labrador mix, was brought into the PEI Humane Society on November 7th as a stray. Unfortunately, that means he had spent half of his life in the shelter. Pent up in a kennel for more hours in a day than there is sunlight, it is so sad that he was not adopted earlier.

Over my 3 1/2 years that I have lived in PEI, I have never lived in a place where I could have pets. That changed last weekend when I moved into a large apartment with a nice backyard. As soon as I found the time, I was off to Charlottetown to check out available pooches.

The PEI Humane Society has a "Get Acquainted Room" that they use for potential adopters to spend some time with the animals before deciding which one to adopt. As soon as Simon ripped into the room, I knew he was a special little pup.

The rest of that afternoon was spent going from Pets Unlimited to Walmart to Zellers, getting all the supplies I would need in order to bring Simon home. The PEI Humane Society has a one-day waiting period for adoptions - and good that they do - which gave me enough time to get everything ready for this wound for sound hound.

Today, I brought Simon home. First order of business: change his name. His personality is definitely not one that a "Simon" would have. So, after careful deliberation, he is now named Nismo.

Nismo is now 6 months old and just starting to get used to the idea that the toilet is outside. But, he sure does like being in the cube.

Tomorrow, Nismo goes on his first long road trip. I hope he enjoys it.