Nine Years Ago Today

It's hard for me to believe, but today is Samba's ninth birthday. It really does seem like yesterday that we drove to Kansas City to meet her plane. A happy little eight week old pup came charging out of the carrier and she has never slowed down.

In her first year we did obedience class and a dog show. Class was OK, but she wasn't crazy about the show ring. Even though she was Best of Breed, she made it clear she didn't want to do that anymore, so we didn't.

We really bonded right from that first long car ride home and she became the most loyal dog I've ever had. She's ready for anything as long as we can do it together.

When she was three we added a future mate to the household. His name was Fudge and the household has never been the same.

Fudge turned out to be a pretty good buddy.

He also provided us with a litter of crazy pups, though Samba and I did all the work.

Around seven she visited the lake and discovered that she's a true water dog. We had to drag her out of the water.

Last year was rough as we fought first MMM, then facial paralysis, then thyroid disease, but we got thru it together.

So join us all today as we celebrate Samba's ninth birthday. Tell your human that we said it was OK to have an extra treat.

Happy Birthday Samba, you're my special girl.