Jake is four

Today is our puppy Jake’s fourth birthday—already!

Jake came to live with us in what was a sad time, and brought so much happiness to our lives. Since then, a lot has changed, but Jake is still as happy as ever.

Bella the cat adopted us all nearly a year ago. At the time, her dominant features were her teeth and claws, having lived wild for quite some time before she chose us. Jake learned to be leery of her and her sharp weapons. In the months since, they’ve become friends, but seldom play with each other. Instead, they nap together or, sometimes, just share sniffs.

Because Bella was wild, we have no idea when her birthday is. So, we decided to make it October 4—exactly six months from Jake’s. Since cat and dog birthdays are for us humans to celebrate, it seemed like it was as good a date as any.

Sunny, another cavoodle, arrived to live with us just before Christmas last year. It took her about two days to slot into our family, and she seemed happy from the start. The family of Jake’s brother, Doyle (whose birthday it also is today—Happy Birthday, Doyle!) provided good advice on making that transition easier because he, too, has an adopted cavoodle sister (her name’s Mollie). Before Sunny came to live with us, her best friend had been a cat named Toy, so she became a play-friend of Bella’s pretty quickly.

Jake and Sunny have become best friends. Every morning, as we finish getting ready to face the day, they have a wrestling match on the bed. Later, they’ll have another match on the lounge floor—some days a couple matches, one around midday and one around dinnertime.

Jake used to often get into what we called “crazy dog mode”, where he’d run through the house at breakneck speed, tail wagging, tongue hanging out, seemingly in a big grin, and making little noises, “grr, grr, grr,” in a cross between a growl and a grunt. Now, Jake and Sunny chase each other through the house, Sunny barking madly (as she does in their wrestling matches, too).

They often sleep near each other, with Sunny sometimes plopping right down next to Jake, as showin in the photo at the top of this post (taken March 29). Jake doesn’t seem to mind, though he doesn’t usually do that; I wonder if that will change when winter sets in.

Interestingly, Sunny's birthday is July 3—right in the middle, between Jake's and the one we chose for Bella (we didn’t know that until Sunny came to live with us). She really does fit right in!

So, the happy little puppy who arrived here in June of 2007, seems as happy as ever, but now with a larger family and playmates at the ready. A dog’s life, indeed!

Happy Fourth Birthday, Jake!!

Related posts:
Jake turns three
Jake’s Birthday 2-day
Jake is one year old!
A new arrival

The photo below is of Jake and Sunny quietly looking outside on March 8. Jake's holding the remains of one of his stuffed bunnies that he now happily shares with Sunny.