Happy Birthday Jake

Today is Jake's 12th birthday. Happy Birthday to my dear pup.

I still remember the day we brought Jake home. We found a no-kill shelter here in central Iowa  through Petfinders and were going there to look at a dog we had seen on their site. He was a gorgeous red heeler named Jake who unfortunately didn't like cats and we had our cat Velcro. So inside we went.

Inside we saw puppies, lots of puppies. Two females, a mother and daughter were found inside an abandoned house earlier and both had been pregnant. Both litters were born at the shelter within days of each other. I can't remember which litter Jake was from, but I picked him out and they made sure he wasn't already spoken for. He wasn't, so the lady handed him to me and I carried him around against my chest and he cried the whole time we were there, poor baby. On the way home, however, he fell asleep in my lap and slept the whole way home. While still at the shelter I decided to name him after the dog we originally went to see. Here he is on the day we brought him home.

He was a tiny little furball. He was so adorable, actually I think he still is.

Big hunter, Jake, it didn't matter that he could barely see over the grass in the yard. As he got older he unfortunately picked up the habit of chasing cars. He would try even if he was on a leash, which he was whenever he went out until we finally got part of the yard fenced in. Now when it's nice out, he'll go and find a comfortable area on top of the storm cellar to lay and keep an eye on things. He also loves going for walks and sniffing at things on the side of the road, seeing what he can flush out.

After a hard day of playing.

It's hard to think of him as being 12 years old now. On the day we brought him home from that shelter he became my "Mama's boy" and still is to this day. If no one else is around, I know that I can count on Jake to be at my side or waiting for me.

So this is my birthday wish for my sweet Jake, that he always knows that he's loved, even when he's being scolded for barking too much. That he knows that he's appreciated for his role as the head protector and that I hope he never has to prove what a good one he is. Also, I hope that the rest of his days are filled with happiness whether it's just taking a snooze, taking a nice walk up or down the road or barking to his heart's content when he's outside.

Happy Birthday Jake. I love you, pup.