April 29, 1998

11 years ago today my steadfast companion was born in Brookfield, Nova Scotia. At that time in my life I just moved back to Nova Scotia from Calgary, Alberta and having always had a family dog, I knew I wanted to get a dog of my own. Growing up in Cape Breton, we always had small family dogs but I had a desire to get a lab. I found the wee Daws in the Halifax Herald and off I went to meet her on a summer evening in July '98. She was the runt of the litter and the very last pup in the bunch. It was just her and her mom, Nike in the living room of this family's home. Daws (temporarily named Chomper by Nike's family) was so incredibly charming - so sweet, chewing on her moms ears and bouncing all over the house. She was such a little force that the family even thought about keeping her. I was smitten. Luckily, they had faith in the young 24 year old in me. I wrote a cheque for $450 and she was mine.

The last 11 years really have flown by and even though my sweet friend has eaten a hole in my mattress, eaten my glasses (yes, eyewear), dug a hole in the wall of my apartment, chewed the baseboards on Chelmsford, demolished several bags of garbage in various kitchens across Canada...she has been the single best friend, completely solid and true (and I've got many kick ass friends). She wags her tail EVERY time she sees me, she licks my face whenever I cry, she'll go for a run with me on the days she's tired and she'll also lie in bed with me for hours on a hungover Saturday (there were just a few of those days in the last 11 years). Her claim to fame: every roommate and boyfriend that have also lived with Daws ended up getting their own dog when they moved out, simply because they missed her energy.

Daws, I want to say that I wish you 11 happy more years, but we know that's not a reality. What I will say is thank you for absolutely everything over the last decade plus one and I pray that you have many more years of good health like you do today.

Happy Birthday Old Friend. Love you. xo