I think I’m in love.

Her name is Stella. She’s about a foot and a half tall, all ears and long legs. She likes long walks, cuddling and the occasional swim. And – bonus! – she loves to shop. At Petco, that is.

Meet ShopPup.

ShopGuy brought her home from the Bangor Humane Society last week. She’s a purebred, a Belgian Malinois. Our vet informed us they normally sell for $1,500 – this may be our best bargain yet. But we weren’t thinking of deals when we set out to adopt a puppy. We were thinking of a pal for our big dog, Cassidy. And we were blinded by those big brown eyes, that sweet little snout, those razor-sharp teeth.

Ah, the teeth.

Puppies like to chew things. Such as bones. And shoes. And our brand-new door.

Clearly, this chewing trend called for a shopping trip. So off we went, Stella, Cassidy and I, to Petco. As soon as the car started moving, Stella immediately peed. I cleaned up the mess, added upholstery cleaner to the list and went on my way. As she frolicked and chewed away in the back seat, I started to wonder if this puppy thing was such a good idea.

My wonder turned to flat-out desperation as we wandered through the aisles, Stella getting her leash all tangled in the displays. As I dangled chew toy after chew toy by her snout, she looked away, longingly, at the rawhide aisle.

How is a dog supposed to weigh the merits of Kongs and rope tugs with the scent of “basted” rawhide wafting by? I stuck a pack of bacon-flavored Nyla-bones in front of her, and she wouldn’t even wiggle a whisker. So I grabbed a minirawhide, thinking it would appease her, and headed back to the soft-toy aisle.

Torn between the vibrant canvas “Santa Fe Strays” and the adorable terrycloth Booda toys, I held both up for ShopPup’s approval. She promptly turned around and tried to head back to the rawhide aisle. I made an executive decision and grabbed a puppy pack of Nyla-bones and a Halloween-themed rope tug. I was going to buy a dog bed, but I realized I had an extra one from Old Navy hanging around somewhere. So we headed to the dog-bowl section instead.

I love interesting pet bowls. ShopCat has a cool Fiestaware bowl accented with metal fish, which I bought in Vermont. We once bought Cassidy a little white bowl that said “Good Dog” inside it. Cute. I didn’t have any such luck at Petco. Longingly, I thought of the selection at Fetch, the dog store in Portland, but I wasn’t about to travel 150 miles for a bowl, so I settled for a green ceramic model and we went on our merry way.

At Petco, they have a dog bar, similar to a salad bar, filled with cookies, bones and treats. It is conveniently placed near the cash registers, so while you wait in line, your puppy can drool and whine and hop up and try to snag a biscuit. Cassidy, the older and wiser of the two, simply looked at me, head cocked, trying to figure out what all the fuss was about. I grabbed a cookie for her, and she loved me for it.

The ride home was a little quieter. Stella chewed on her paw and looked at her rope tug, not knowing exactly what to do with it. Cassidy simply slept. When we got home, I laid all of ShopPup’s new toys in front of her. She surveyed the scene, got up, and grabbed one of Cassidy’s bones. I felt defeated, but at least it wasn’t a pair of shoes.

A few days later, friends arrived with a present for Stella. It was a Booda hippopotamus. The same toy she turned up her snout at a few days earlier.

She hasn’t stopped chewing it since.

ShopGirl would love to hear from you! Send questions, comments or suggestions by e-mail to: kandresen@bangordailynews.net, by U.S. mail to: Kristen Andresen, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402-1329, or by fax to: 941-9476.