As hard as it is for me to believe, my dogs, Hyphen and Sash, turn five years old today. It seems like yesterday when we picked them up in Connecticut (I know...any more pets, I plan to adopt from a shelter) and struggled to teach them what we expected of their behavior, then celebrated their six-month birthdays (lower right), then took them to Central Park for a first big nature outing. Anyone considering dogs should consider the Shih Tzu: They're not easy, but if you're going to spend thousands of dollars over time and thousands of hours (within the first month), you want a dog with personality. And these two have that in spades.