Our dog Casey is 17 today!

I can't believe it: 17!  And at the end of January, she'll have been with us for 17 years too.  Hard to believe it's been that long since we brought home this tiny 2 pound puppy.  We weren't sure how much she weighed, so when we took her to PetSmart for a collar, John put her on the dog scale.  She was so small, she didn't register.  So we put her in the bird feed scale!

We had John's dog Trooper at the time, and would sadly lose him 2 weeks later.  John was selling cars then and told me he couldn't face coming home and not having his dog running up to meet him.  Casey, he pointed out, hadn't learned to do that yet.  I waited for his car to pull up, then gave Casey this little scooch towards the door when I heard him outside.  But I gave her too much of a scooch and she tumbled head over heels.  She landed just as John walked in the door, so excited to see Casey having "run" to the door to meet him!

He's always been her favorite, and trusts him completely.  They have a great, unique bond, right from the beginning.  They used to play this game we called "Bounce".  He'd turn her on her back on the bed, then spread his hand over her middle.  Then he'd bounce her like a ball!  She loved it!  As long as he did it....

She has the terrier spirit, always backing up her sisters' play whether it was Cinder chasing ducks in a icy winter pond, or helping Morgan take on 2 Great Danes.  It's always been her world that we were allowed to use.  She was alpha and to this day, she insists she will not follow Elphie as pack leader.  She will not be a follower, but stay respectfully retired.  And if Rico and Elphie do push it, she will find the fire inside to put them back in place.

We've been through a lot together and I pray every year to please give us more with her.