Two years ago today I hopped on a tiny Horizon airplane and headed from Seattle to Spokane to pick up our new puppy.

After a period of so much loss; my elderly dog, my job, my marriage and my dad’s declining health we all needed something to brighten our lives.

I met our breeder at the airport and they handed me this squirming bundle of velvety goodness and puppy breath, with paperwork and her blanket. I was instantly in love. I had only a brief time on the ground – taking the exact same plane for the return trip to Seattle. I carried her through the security checkpoint where she received numerous Ooohs and Ahhhs and requests for skritchies.

She fell asleep in her carrier for the trip home and stayed asleep the whole 30-40 minutes.

Despite knowing she was coming, I had no puppy supplies for her so we stopped and bought a complete collection of gear; harnesses and collars and leashes and a playpen for those times when she’d must be left alone (those were few; I didn’t want to be away from her much!)

The boys came home from they’re visit with their father and were enchanted with her immediately. She adores them too.

Now that she’s out of her puppy stage, she’s still so awesome. She has a natural mothering instinct and any time the boys are behaving inappropriately she will bark at them and try to herd them as if they are her puppies. Every night she must join us for the bedtime routine and she listens to stories or games and finishes by giving each boy kisses goodnight.

When it’s time for her to go to bed, she scratches at my blanket until I lift it up and make room for her to burrow under. Only her nose peeks out while she gets settled. Despite being only 28lbs, she takes up lots of bed space, stretching out horizontally to get comfortable. And she always sleeps with some part of her smooshed up against me.

Her favorite game ever is to play in the hose – she recently chewed a hole in the hose because it was not turned on for her to play with!