Here's to Joe

With Joey's seventh birthday approaching, I thought that we should take a moment and appreciate our furry, ball chasing four legged friend. He is pretty much unforgettable for those who know him. Looking back I realize that was always the case.

When I first met him, he was chasing his tail endlessly much like he chases his ball today. I thought that it was the cutest thing I had ever seen...little did I know this was the beginning of an endless obsession to chase something. "Throw my ball, please?"..."Throw it"...."Throw it just once"....The ball flies over his head. "Sucker". You can see this thought process all over his face. But tonight as he sleeps at the foot of the bed, I realize that he is far more than a ball obsessed shit tuz.

The two of us have been through so much together. College...Joey discovered the fun of creating a snow storm with a roll of toilet paper and that Miller Lite was by far his favorite adult beverage. Meanwhile, I had the time of my life and learned that I was really clueless about life. The first few years after graduation...well...neither one of us want to talk about those....let's just say that we both had a bad relationship :). But we learned a lot. Joey says that he will only live in a one dog household and I learned to always trust my heart even if it is telling me to do something extraordinarily scary.

And then we met Scott. "Daddy" was the first thing Joey said when he met Scott and from that moment on, he stopped being my dog and became our dog. And now, I watch him chase Will as giggles radiate through the house. I know just as I have found my happiness, Joey has found his. I was always sure that Joey and I were the perfect match, and now that I see how wonderful he is with my children, I am so grateful that we found each other.

He is more than a dog, but is an essential part of this family, and to be honest, it is difficult to imagine this home without him. So, here's to our 'ball chasing', 'housekeeping', 'bed hogging', 'down-right perfect' dog.......