Happy Birthday Cupid!

My special girl turned 12 years old Christmas Day.  She's pictured above amidst the present-opening chaos.  Later, she and I went for our annual birthday/Christmas walk but her elbow was bothering her so we turned it into a nice long drive through snow-covered farmland instead.  

Christmas 1996 is especially memorable because DH (who wasn't yet my husband) and I spent it whelping puppies.  About half of the pups arrived during the wee hours of the night at home but the rest were delivered at the emergency vet clinic throughout Christmas Day.  The nine babies got the names of Santa's reindeer.  Rudolph was nicknamed Rudy and went to live in Alabama.  Blitzen was renamed Bear and, because his owners lived in Tucson, I was able to watch him grow up into a big, handsome, long-coated dog.  And Vixen lived up to her name--she was a spitfire who went to live with a park ranger who took her to work everyday.  

I feel blessed to have Cupid still in my life, and I am thankful that she is healthy and strong....the best Christmas present of all.