Happy 5th Dogiversary, Doogles!

Just over five years ago, we very casually went to an adoption fair at a local pet shop. We went there just to look- we didn't really intend on finding a dog that day. We looked around at all the dogs there and as we were about to leave, we noticed more dogs being brought in. A certain black dog with big pointy ears named Dakota immediately caught our eye, so we asked to meet him. After getting to know him a little, we heard about his history, and that was it- our hearts were in his little paws. We went home, promptly filled out an adoption application, and five years ago today that dog became a part of our family. We were so happy and excited!

our first family photo on adoption day, 4/29/06

Every year on this day I like to reflect and remember where the doogles came from and why we're all so happy about where he is now. If you know him, you know about his skittishness and general anxiety. This can be problematic (if not down right irritating at times), but we realize he still has many residual effects from being alone in the streets (and, we suspect, from being abused before that). As a testament to his spirit, it's somewhat surprising that he is also so very sweet and affectionate- he loves being loved, petted, and cuddled. Knowing what we know about his past, it's the least we can do to give him as much love as we can, and as he deserves.

In case you don't know about his life before us, the Bill Foundation (the organization from which we adopted him) wrote about Dakota's Story for one of their newsletters a while back. It sheds a lot of light on why he is the way he is, and it touches me every time I read it. And I do re-read it from time to time to remember where he came from and why we're all so glad he is where he is now.

We're not exactly sure how old he is, nevermind when his birthday is, so we celebrate the day we adopted him instead. So Happy Dogiversary, Doogles! We love you!