Based on my ongoing investigation of puppies in our neighbourhood, I have come to the conclusion that I should start a puppy index. It could be a measure of optimism and goodwill and maybe even a leading indicator of good things to come.

Since we got our puppy on Oct. 5, Ellis the Golden Retriever and I have been carefully monitoring Cabbagetown streets and parks. It seems to me we are finding an increasing number of puppies of various shapes and sizes for her to play with.

Ellis is an early riser. So, over the past two months, it has become our habit to collect my morning coffee at JetFuel, our neighbourhood coffee bar, then head for the park to undertake our research of Cabbagetown’s puppy population.

Why, just last week we ran into a three-month-old Jack Russell named Lola. Ellis and Lola chased each other around in circles until Lola’s owner and I got dizzy and decided it was time for more coffee.

Then there was a recent morning when we ran into a nine-month-old Bijon Frise named Peppermint. While the puppies played, Pepper’s owner and I discussed the merits of dog ownership. He has been doing a little research himself and has discovered certain stereotypes against which some dog owners must struggle.

Little white poofy Pepper was his daughter’s choice. He had promised his kids a dog and, good to his word, Pepper had joined the family. His wife is at home all day with kids and dog and his responsibility is taking Pepper on her morning and evening walks.

On a recent walk, an older woman had stopped to make a fuss over Pepper. “My brother has one of these dogs,” she told Pepper’s owner. “He’s gay, too.”

When he and I discussed how large Ellis will be when she is full grown, he looked at Ellis with some wistfulness.

Lola and Pepper are only the beginning. There is Ellis’s special friend, Taj, who lives a few doors down. He is a 10-month-old Tibetan Mastiff and the size of a small horse. Ellis loves nothing more than hanging off Taj’s ears or jowls or attacking his tail. Taj gracefully, and generally gleefully, accepts her attentions.

A little further down the street, Jackie and Juan — after five years of being without a dog — have adopted a rescue dog, a long-legged, floppy-eared, black mixed-breed that is the same age as Ellis. Then, there is the couple down the street in the other direction, who have a Black Lab a month older than Ellis.

That is on our street alone. This past Sunday morning, as we strolled through the park, we ran into Max, the six-month-old Golden Retriever. We were joined soon after by Grace, the four-month-old Golden Retriever. It wasn’t long before A.J. (you got it, another Golden) bounced up. A.J., being two years old, does not fall within the parameters of my study, but his owner told me about her neighbourhood friend who has a four-month-old Golden.

If volume is any indication of strength, my index is gathering momentum and turning upward. And I don’t see the trend abating. We ran into Jenn on our evening walk last night and she told us she is getting a Portuguese Water Spaniel puppy next week.

Based on my Cabbagetown Puppy Index, the outlook is positive for the year ahead. Maybe it’s a sign that people want something warm and loving at home to cuddle when the outside world is wild and threatening. Maybe puppy owners just don’t care; maybe by nature their focus is micro, not macro.

Whatever the reason, the CP index tells me there is much to be positive about in 2009.

— TESSA WILMOTT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF