Happy First Birthday, Bristol!

Bristol is one year old today. He shares his birthday with my mom. Happy Birthday, Mom and Bristol!

I remember walking down the row of kennels at Anderson Animal Shelter, hoping that I would fall in love with a dog we would take home soon. I knew we were just looking, but I also know my weakness for big pups and dogs. It wouldn't be easy to go home without a dog, if I found one I liked.

There was a large litter of pups sleeping in a corner of their kennel. One puppy was sitting beside his siblings, and he looked up at me. He held my gaze, and I just melted into his baby blue eyes. BLUE EYES? Oh, man. And he had the biggest paws. I know big paws mean big dogs, and I was smitten right away. 

Chuck and I waited in a small room for one of the volunteers to bring Bristol to us so we could get to know him a little better. I fell so hard for this little silver puppy. I just knew my heart would break if we didn't make him our own.

Bristol is everything I wanted in a dog. He is so calm, and has been good at walking on a loose leash since he was two months old. Bristol knows basic tricks like sit and high five, but he still has to think about whether he wants to come when I call him. I joke that he has the personality of a cat, only wanting to be petted when it suits him, but most of the time, he loves snuggling with me under a blanket. It seems like he is always cold.

When I get frustrated with Bristol's antics, his name changes to Blister. Mister Blister has chewed up more shoes, socks, and shirts than I care to count. He was harder to house train, but I blame part of that on bladder infections. His veterinarian suspected Bristol was acting out when he was an older puppy, and encouraged me to praise him to pieces every time he took care of business outside. I am happy to say that we haven't had any accidents for over two months. FINALLY.

My velvet hippo has not been without his medical issues. When we adopted him, he had a couple of ringworm patches, and he was also being medicated for ear and bladder infections. The ringworm healed up, but he had recurring bladder issues until he was about 9 months old, and he still has ear issues sometimes. Our most expensive vet bill involved an emergency visit when he ate a sewing needle that had to be surgically removed. Oh, Bristol. 

Bristol and I love snuggling on the couch. If I lift my fleece blanket, he dives under it to lie down beside me. He loves having his ears, chest, and belly rubbed. The top of his head is so soft. I lovingly call him my Velvet Hippo. 

I love my Bristol so much. His blue eyes have changed to a cool grey, and they still melt me. We've only been together ten months. I hope Bristol lives a long, healthy life. I can't even imagine life without our dogs. They filled an empty space in our lives we didn't even realize was there.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Bristol. I'm so glad you're my fur baby.