Happy Birthday Teddy!

Yesterday was Teddy’s 5th birthday. As I look back over the past five years and how fast they have flown by I realize how very much joy Teddy has brought to me and my family.

When I first decided to get a Westie we had been without a dog for about 2 years and I knew that I wanted my kids to grow up with a dog. My husband wasn’t so sure and made sure I knew he wasn’t in favor of my plan. Who will clean up after him? Who will feed him? “I will”, I said. I also told him that it would be a great way for me to get some exercise … walking the dog. Well, one of those statements partially came true as it is me who cleans up after him and feeds him. Walking for exercise – not so much. Teddy isn’t the best walker. He pulls at the leash and wants to make it down to the end of the cul de sac as quickly as possible. Sometimes he’ll stop and pee on a mailbox or two but mostly he just wants to reach the end. Then, halfway back he decides he has had enough and sits down and refuses to move. This is the point where I pick him up and carry him the rest of the way home. I’ve often wondered what my neighbors think as they see me walking and my dog getting carried. Who, exactly, is walking who?

Teddy is such a smart dog and never fails to make me smile at his crazy antics. When he does the Westie tilt with his head you just know he is trying to ask “What ARE you doing?” He also likes to howl when we sing and you can see the joy on his face as he joins in. I just love it when he goes out on cold frosty mornings and then comes in and chases his Westie brother, Calvin, around the house trying to warm up.

He can get a little grouchy at times, he especially doesn’t like his back feet touched, but it just makes it all the more special when he occasionally jumps up onto the couch and plants himself next to me and snuggles in.

And … that husband that wasn’t behind my plan of getting a dog so many years ago? I’ll see him sometimes laying on the couch with Teddy tucked under his arm and they’re like two peas in a pod. I can’t tell who loves who more.

So Happy Birthday Teddy – you are LOVED so very, very much.