This past weekend we celebrated Dodger Dog’s 1st birthday. He’s our lovely new mutt  that we can’t get enough of. Below  are a few more  shots of him enjoying his cake, as well as some social media shots of his many adventures with us in the past few months.

Dodger entered mine and Crystal’s life about 5 months ago. The story goes as follows: Crystal and I were both grieving the loss of Pancake the Corgi. Secretly and separate from one another we were looking at pups to fill the all too  large gap left in our family. On different dog finding websites Crystal and I found the same dog. She was a corgi mix named Velvet from an organization that rescues dogs from the street and meat trade in Thailand. Crystal showed me the picture hoping to pique my interest in adopting her, not knowing that I had found Velvet on another site, Crystal flipped out when I told her. We both contacted this  organization (Life Animal Rescue) with questions about Velvet. We didn’t hear back  but knew that Life Animal Rescue was having an adoption event that  weekend and maybe  we could meet the corgi mix there. So we went, our “Gift of the Magi” dog was nowhere to be found nor was she available to adopt when we inquired about  her. At the adoption event we did see a scruffy little mutt tentatively named “Elvis” newly arrived from Thailand. He was in our house the next day, re-named Dodger.

He’s been quite the blessing and very easy to train. He can be taken  pretty much anywhere and his behavior is surprisingly stellar. He has his moments and can get impatient but overall he’s a dream companion.

I’ve never been one to celebrate dog birthdays but it was important to me to show Dodger that he’s very loved and appreciated. Had it not been for him I don’t know that I would have recovered so well after Pancake’s loss. His energy and spirit fills me with joy and I’m glad he’s around.

I remember being hesitant to post pictures of him and worried that he might not work out. I had a bad experience several years ago with a rescue dog and didn’t want to be put in that same position again. Now I’m glad we got Dodger and I post pictures of him all the time, I probably would everyday if not for some restraint.

Above is the first time I posted about him. Relieved to discover that he was a fun and easy to train puppy that was as healthy as he was happy. This weekend wasn’t just about giving him sugar, we also treated him to a movie. A gift I’m sure he enjoyed, although I think he would have preferred being locked alone in a closet with a squirrel, no questions asked.

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We recently participated in a charity walk with Dodger which was important because it was a walk to raise awareness and funds to help save dogs in shelters, homeless dogs like Dodger once was.

It’s hard to imagine him as a street mongrel what with the many comforts provided for him. Comforts that he very much takes advantage of.

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And  while he enjoys laying about as much as the next dog, he’s also ready for any adventure, be it facing farm animals:

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Or dinosaurs:

He’s prepared for anything. I love this little guy with all my heart. I know he’ll go far and he always make me proud. If he could read (which I think he’s close) I know he would approve of this. Thanks Dodger Dog, I look forward to all the adventures to come!