Happy 14th Birthday To Our Wonder Boy

Every superhero needs a cape.

The past few years have been a kind of crazy, roller coaster ride of highs and lows, pretty much like everyone else's life. But the one constant has been the utter joy and happiness brought to us by a most special 21 pound (on a good day) Beagle/Jack Russell Mix.

Our Tinker is the most amazing dog. He has been with us for nearly 10 years, and today he turns 14. There are no words that could possibly convey the love we have for him or the unconditional love he has shown towards us. One of the best things about an average day is his enthusiastic greeting when one of us arrives home. There he is, waiting near the top of the stairs, or laying in one of the array of 4 beds/crate pads he has to choose from.

Though his hearing isn't what it once was, his eyes know his people. He leaps up and runs around as we reach through the railing at the top of the stairs and pet him. The highest compliment is when he licks you right on the nose.  He does little circular zoomies and joyfully dives in the bed nearest the stairs or runs over to one of us to give notice that the other has arrived home.

While he has his day-to-day physical issues that come with age, he's still as happy as can be when he wakes up in the morning and starts to move about the bedroom hoping to wake us to take him for a walk. He even loves to walk outside despite this cold, snowy winter. He loves to get treats out of his kongs and has recently picked up a new habit of taking a lap through the narrow space behind the couch and the wall. Sometimes he'll change his route to counter clockwise, just to keep us on our toes. No matter which it is, we laugh each and every time he does it.

If you've read this blog or know us personally, you know that in 2005 Tinker ruptured a disk in his back. He went through surgery, rehab, used a cart to get around, and then recovered and walked on his own again. He's been attacked twice by large dogs that left him with bad injuries which have, thankfully, healed well. And our Energizer bunny keeps on trucking.

He's become a little more shy around some dogs because of the bite incidents, and he no longer likes going to the vet due to all the poking and prodding, but he's just as stoic as his sister Virginia was.  When she passed in the Fall of 2012, Tinker had to find his own voice. While they were together, VA was the leader of the pack and Tinker doted on her and was happy to follow along. But once she was gone, after a period of time when it seemed he genuinely missed her, he adapted fairly quickly and became the king of his castle.

We've given serious thought to getting him a new pal,  since he loves other dogs.  But given his increasingly fragile state and his age, for now we think it best to keep him safe and happy with the status quo and with all of our attention.

With the amount of love he gives, it's like we have 2 dogs anyway.  Happy Birthday to our sweet Boo and long may you run.  We love you like crazy and are inspired by your spirit.