Happy Birthday Sophie

My pup turns 7 today. I can't believe she is already seven. Though the white on her chin reminds me all too frequently that time flies.

Sophie is my heart dog. I love my Swy guy but Sophie is the dog that forced me to grow up and to a certain degree not be shy and for that she will always have a special place in my heart.

We adopted her a year to the day after losing our family lab Shasta to cancer. Sophie was going to live with my parents and she was supposed to be the family's dog. My parent's other pup, Stitch had a very different opinion of this and two weeks later, Sophie, her crate and five million toys were ensconced in my two bedroom apartment as I prepared for the last semester of law school.

To say those first few months were hard is an understatement. She was a completely different puppy than Shasta i.e. Sophie was your typical lab piranha puppy combined with the energizer bunny. Its how I found the lab board, crying, stressed and totally at my wits end, I went looking for help.

7 years later, Sophie is responsible for getting me out of my shell. I have met some amazing friends and found the crazy world of dog sports all because she pushed me to find ways to deal with her crazy energy, reactivity and general labrador craziness. It has been a journey with lots of laughs and some tears. She keeps me on my toes!

Happy birthday baby girl! Here is too many more birthday celebrations, flyball races, hikes, games of tug, swims and naps.