Thomas Jefferson famously said in a letter to John Adams in 1815, “I cannot live without books.” (Ever the worker bee, he added, “but fewer will suffice where amusement, and not use, is the only future object.”)

Neither can I. Yes, yes, I know we are supposed to read everything online, download books, and so forth, but I have a problem with that. When I use my Kindle, I turn the page and find that I have turned 40 or 80 pages, and I can’t get back to the place I left off.

But it’s more than the bother of learning a new technology that is a problem for me.

I like the feel of books in my hands. I like to mark the books I own. I underline phrases and sentences. I put asterisks next to wonderful lines. I handle my books. I like to touch them.

I like to buy new books, old books, rare books.

But there is something else I realize that I cannot live without, and that’s a dog.

I always had dogs, and for about ten years I had two dogs. I loved having two of them, walking them together on the streets of New York City. One was a Tibetan Terrier and the other was a cocker spaniel. They were both blondes. People used to ask me if they were sisters, and I would say, “Yes, but they had different parents.”

Molly, the Tibetan, died in 2010, after a long and terrible bout with lymphoma. Lady, the cocker spaniel, died in 2011 after three years of diabetes.

I thought I would not get another dog and would try to be happy with a cat. The cat is lively, and I never have to walk him. When it rains or snows or gets bitter cold, I am glad to stay indoors.

But guess what? I have a new puppy. She is a huge mutt, a mix of Newfoundland, Lab, Akita, and a few other breeds as well.

My family thought I was spending too many hours at the computer, and they conspired to make me get out.

The answer: a dog. She makes me get out and walk. A lot..

The new girl is all black with white paws. Her name is Mitzi, short for Mittens, because her paws have mittens.

She has a thick, almost waterproof coat. She is big and growing. She will one day be 60-70 pounds, maybe more.

I never had such a big dog.

The dog and the cat play together constantly, never hurting one another.

If the dog gets too rough, the cat jumps to a higher plane.

Mitzi has a gentle and calm disposition. At the moment, her job is to chew.

She chews bones and hooves and anything else that catches her eye, such as my arm and wrist.

As I said, I cannot live without books, and I cannot live without a dog.