Otis Day

Today our little meatball turns one.

A puppy is not for the faint of heart. Or the busy. Or the ones who have nice stuff and don’t want it ruined. Since Otis came into our life, we’ve ridden a roller coaster. From those first few nights where we took turns sleeping on the couch with him on our chest to the teething period that seemed to go on forever and our arms and legs looked like they had track marks to the destructive phase of acting out by eating books and holes in the carpet, we have loved this now-not-so-little puppy.

He’s such a sweet pea. At the dog park he often runs up to other humans to say hello. He loves kids and just wants to lick them when they pet him. He’s gentle with the cats and Dash has come around to the point that we have caught him licking Otis’s head which is ridiculously adorable. Dot, on the other hand, has her moments but mostly steers clear of him though recently she’s deigned to lay on the couch while he is in the same room.

Our lives are definitely ruled by King Otis. We schedule our time differently so that he’s not alone too much. We pour money into doggie day care, a dog walker, toys, treats, training classes, and the vet. Our vacations are planned with him in mind- can he come with us or can we find a trusted dog-sitter? (And no, he’s not coming to Hawaii with us.)

Otis brought us out of a dark time in our lives. He let us love him when we didn’t feel capable of taking care of ourselves, much less a helpless 7 week old puppy. Bringing him into our lives made us a family as we learned to slow down, enjoy life’s little moments, and cherish small victories (he didn’t pee in the house- hooray!). Every day, I’m so grateful he’s in our lives. He’s the most happy when we’re all together and, you know what? So am I.

Happy birthday sweet boy! Thank you for being.

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