I wanted to start off by thanking everyone for their kind responses to my introduction post on Friday. As 
So, I stated in my post yesterday that I planned to write about Buddy’s annual birthday parties. I think I will begin with a general overview of who he is and how he came into our family’s lives. Buddy was born on January 26th, 2015, in the care of the Galway Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA). That date is significant to us because it is the date on which our former dog, Choco, passed away after a long illness. We have asked Buddy on a number of occasions whether he is Choco reincarnated, but that’s not a question he seems willing to answer. 😉
Any dog fan will know that as soon as you have experienced the honour of being loved by a beautiful canine, life is never quite the same. Your home never feels complete without a dog's excitable presence. You yearn for the cacophony they start up when it's time for a walk, or the sensation of a wet nose gently booping your face in the morning, wanting to be fed. I acutely feel the lack of a doggo presence in my own day-to-day life, because I don't actually live with Buddy now and have to content myself with seeing him every time I visit my family, as my apartment is far too small for me to take in a dog of my own.
Even in our sorrow, we had a sense that taking in a new dog would be a beautiful way to honour Choco's memory. There is poem called A Dog's Last Will and Testament that I have often seen in various corners of the Internet, but I've never known who the author is. If anybody does know, please do tell me so that I can add their name. The sentiments expressed in that poem beautifully describe the unconditional love that dogs can demonstrate, so I wanted to include it in this post.
My bowl, cozy bed, soft pillows and all my toys.
The lap which I loved so much.
The hand that stroked my fur and the sweet voice which spoke my name.
I'd will to the sad scared shelter dog the place I had in my human's heart, of which there seemed no bounds.
Buddy's mother Rhianna was saved from impending euthanasia at a dog pound in Galway when the pound was emptied just before Christmas 2014 and the dogs were handed over to any local rescue charities or foster homes that could take them. My parents and sister drove from Dublin to Galway to get Buddy after they saw his picture on the GSPCA's Facebook page.
Buddy found a permanent place inside our hearts in no time at all. He immediately proved to have an incorrigible personality: hiding our shoes and socks, chewing everything within sight, and stealing food whenever he thought he could get away with it. He still gets excited over every minor little incident that marks a deviation from his daily routine, and he has yet to master the art of not jumping all over visitors and serenading them with a delightful medley of whines and barks the moment they enter the house (though he has, at least, stopped peeing on them 🙈). No matter what he does, though, we always forgive him.
Buddy is an irreplaceable part of our family, just like every human within it, so we always throw him a birthday party on January the 26th every single year. It doesn't matter to us that he does not know or care that this date is his birthday: we just love his howls of delight as we prepare his "cake" (a rice cake, almond butter and raspberry jam sandwich dreamed up by my mother on his very first birthday), followed by his howls of anxiety as we proceed to place candles into it and set them alight. He can never blow the candles out, of course – one of us always has to do it for him – but it's the thought that counts! These parties are our little way of celebrating his presence in our lives. Regardless of whether he understands our bizarre human rituals or not, we love performing them for him.
So there you have it: an introduction to my sweet doggo! 😊 I would love to hear about other people's dog stories, or connect with fellow animal lovers who are owned by any type of animal at all. I once had a beautiful cat named Candy, and I still miss her every day.