[ it has to say something about one or the other of them, that matt doesn't see where he's done anything especially nice. certainly nothing he'd consider "spoiling". but if his approach results in this kind of happiness -- and matt doesn't need his eyes to pick up on the way the emotion bubbles out of scott when he's happy -- then he'll gladly keep right on doing it. ]

That doesn't sound like any rule I've ever heard of.

[ matt can think of a lot of answers to that, but they're all likely to make scott sputter or blush. ]

I would withhold judgment on that until you actually have the dog. Aren't puppies supposed to be pretty near the top of the happy-making list?