Cookie the fur child

Of course, the first entry would be about none other than Cookie. Our friends and family are very familiar with this brindled pup and how she came to be a part of our lives. We adopted her from the shelter when she was 9 weeks and 9 lbs, and a year and two months later, she is 1.5 years and ~32 lbs. She quickly surpassed our expectations (and the shelter's) of remaining a small dog by growing out of any clothes we got her in a matter of weeks (sometimes even days). I suppose her love of food encouraged this enormous growth spurt.

When we say, "Cookie is different from other dogs", we really mean it. Not to be that dog owner that claims his/her dog is absolutely amazing...but both of us had dogs growing up and this little one tears down just about every notion of dogs and how to be a dog owner. She is very intelligent with a lot of energy. (She is part JRT from her mom.) This concoction can be...deadly. During the first few months, we would wring our hands in utter hopelessness while Cookie tore around the house, making figure-eights around our legs. "We are raising a child," we would say. "Not a dog."

But as the months wore on, we began to understand each other. That puppy love that had mesmerized us and suckered us into getting her evolved into a steadfast, abundant love a parent would have for his/her child. What makes Cookie so eerily intelligent is that she will communicate with you. When you talk to her, she holds eye contact, her ears perk forward, and her body inches closer--trying to grasp every word you say. And then she will respond to it. If she agrees with it, every bone in her furry body will show it; if she doesn't, she will clearly show her disapproval.

People say raising a dog is a glimpse of raising a child and we cannot agree more. The joy and trails of being responsible for a living thing is incredible, and I am ever grateful to Cookie for bringing Edwin and myself closer together. When it is the three of us, I know (and Cookie does too) that we are a family.

So this post is to you, Cooks! And that green furry thing you love so dearly. Look at that protective paw you put over it and that wicked seductive gleam in your eye, inviting us: Time to play....