Happy 8th Birthday Mickey...

Before G3 came along, I had another baby. An extremely anxious, nervous-nelly type of baby with big brown eyes and chocolate brown hair. He came into our lives when he was just 8 weeks old and for all intents and purposes has been my best buddy since. Though his rank in my life was severely lowered with the arrival of G3, I thought it would be fitting to give him a blog post on his 8th birthday, which was yesterday. Of course, while cleaning up after breakfast I looked over and saw this, and knew it was a good representation of his life right now:

What happens when you live with a 1.5 year old...you end up with wet pajamas on your head.

Mickey is in no way the perfect dog...he has a lot of annoying qualities stemming directly from his anxiety issues, most notably barking like a lunatic every time a leaf drops or his world shifts slightly in any way. But in many ways he IS the perfect dog--he has no destructive behaviors, he listens very well (when not in the throws of panic at the doorbell), hasn't needed a leash in years, is kind and tolerant of G3. Although the amount of attention he gets right now is nothing compared to the first 6 and a half years of his life, he is okay with that. A typical day for Mickey is spent on his bed, napping. He has his moments of excitement during the day--breakfast, dinner, and Gabe arriving home from work--and is always up for outdoor play or a run. I am fortunate that he is in perfect health, especially for an 8 year old large breed. He was officially a senior dog last year, but I haven't seen any signs of "oldness" in him yet, minus the gray beard.

I know that he will not be the last dog that I ever have, and he may not even be the "best" dog I ever have...but he will always be the first, and the one by my side through most of my 20's and into my 30's. He will always be G3's first pet--heck, G3's first word was "Mickey". Anyhow, it was only fitting to recognize his birthday this year.

Happy Birthday Mickey!