Best Pal

Today is my sweet dog's "birthday." It's not her birthday, but her "birthday." And she's turning five-ish. We hit the lottery four years and two months ago when we picked up our sweet girl (from this amazing shelter here in Chicago), and she's been the best pal either of us could ask for! She was about 10 months old that day, so we counted back 10 months and called February 1 her "birthday" from then on. I know every dog owner says it, but seriously, there's not a better dog and furry companion to be found on the planet. We often joke that all of our luck went into our dog, and nothing else will ever work out as well for us in life, and that's okay. Our sweet Lanie (full name Penny Lane) is truly one of the coolest and greatest animals around, and she totally deserves the Dairy Queen delight she'll get in celebration of her "birthday" later this evening!

Do you celebrate your pets' birthdays? Do your pets have great names? I love pet names. There's a little puppy French bulldog in our 'hood named Gary. Every time I see him I crack up. Lanie is Lanie because she was "Bailey" in the shelter, and she was fairly well-trained by that name, so we wanted to keep the vowel sounds and syllables the same to ease her transition. How do you name your pets?

Happy Birthday, Best Dog Ever!

(now indulge me in a photographic tribute to the aforementioned best dog ever)

(still such a sweet pup after all this time! seriously, how cute is my girl?!)