I really like Meredith. She's leaps and bounds more genuine than Katie Couric. But even she has been shoehorned by her bosses into the "We Need a Blog" syndrome. She is a classy gal, and it's a shame some NBC producer drove her to such depths that she's writing openly about her dog's defecation habits (albeit in a heartfelt way Americans can relate to). She writes:

Here's my life in a nutshell: I still haven't found my charm bracelet, and Jasper our dog has started "relieving" himself again in our living room, after I spent a couple hundred dollars getting the rug clean so that he wouldn't smell himself. I don't understand why he's doing it-he's free to go outside all the time, it's not as if he's trapped and has no choice, he knows he's loved… At this point I'm wondering if I should install motion sensors and hidden cameras just to see if there's a pattern or time of day when he goes behind the couch. But maybe that's taking it too far.

But apparently, her post found a concerned audience:

Since I'm flying to Chicago right after the show tomorrow, I thought I'd answer a few questions today… Caroline said: Did your dog start "relieving" himself when your son came home from college for the summer? If so, this might have been his way of marking his territory! That's a great observation, but unfortunately this pre-dates Ben's return home. So I'm still at a loss but determined to come up with a solution. A friend of mine suggested I just put those wee-wee pads for puppies along the living room floor where Jasper likes to ‘go', but I'm afraid that will send him the wrong message... stay tuned.

We will. [via Meredith Viera's blog]