HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERRA!

Holy crap, has it been a year already? Well no, it hasn't been a year, it's been a year ... Oh stop spinning in circles, let me explain ...

It's been a year since Terra was born down there in Guelph, but it has not been a year since we've had her. That date will happen in March and I'll make a more detailed retrospective blog at that time. You don't take a puppy home the day she is born, well you could but you'd be an idiot and mamma dog would probably bite your ass

I've posted before about doggie birthdays and how my dog trainer buddy John doesn't think "dogs have birthdays" as in, they don't celebrate them. Well kids don't celebrate their own birthdays at first, we celebrate for them and eventually the gift-hungry little buggers learn on their own ....

So did Terra get a gift? She did indeed. Her very first taste of dried liver. Beef liver is the puppy equivalent of Vic getting a Porshe for his birthday, apparently. Happy happy.

Needless to say, Terra has come a long way in a year. Physically, from this ...

... to this ...

I know, scary eh?

Terra is now taller and longer than Hayley and almost equal in weight. The coat still has some growing out to do , I feel, and maybe she'll put on another pound or two, but the physical growing is pretty much done.

The two of them have gone from this ..

...to this ...

Terra's the one on the left, by the ball, I know it's getting hard to tell. If I walk by them on the couch, I often need a second to figure out which dog is which.

The non physical changes are more important of course. Although Terra is still very much a puppy and still has a lot to learn, it's pretty remarkable how far she's come. Again, I'll leave some of this to her "year anniversary" post but besides the basic obedience commands she's learned, Terra has definitely matured, from a dog that was terrified of a bus coming towards her at night, to a dog who happily rides any form of transit from car, to bus to subway train.

It's been a journey longer than the TTC can take you, and longer than I can dedicate to in this post, but stay tuned in March for the full Terra retrospective.

But until then .. Happy Birthday Terra!