Being Six Is Exhausting

Happy birthday to our most beloved Shay Shay who turns six years old today. Carter took her to Pet Smart to get a party hat and some birthday presents. Turns out they don’t have party hats for dogs. This seems shocking since pets are the biggest thing money gets spent on these days.
Carter says it was for the best because Shay would hate a cone hat with an elastic string. Of course she would, we all hate those hats, but nothing says, “It’s my birthday” more than a little humiliation.
It is hard to remember our life without Shay. Carter had wanted a dog for the longest time, but Russ’ allergies prevented us from getting one. I used to say to Carter, “It is more important that Daddy can breath.” She didn’t always see it that way.
One day we were at our friends the Pottengers for dinner and Russ spent the entire evening snuggled up with their labradoddle Brady without any Clairitan and without any trouble. That was the answer. I contacted their breeder and found out he was having a litter soon and I could be interviewed. The price was outrageous, but the interview was even harder. I think getting a security clearance is easier.

Thankfully we passed the requirements for being parents of a precious labradoddle. My father had given me a very nice check for my birthday so I spent half of it on Shay Shay. It went against every grain in my body to pay for a dog and not rescue one from the shelter, but it was the only way I could be half certain that I was not killing my husband. Turns out Shay loves him best so it is a good thing she is so undog like.
With Carter leaving for camp and college Shay is going to be even more spoiled than ever. I can only imagine her wanting to take over Carter’s space so she can have her dog friends over and not have the prying ears and eyes of her parents when she is with her teenage gang. Then again she likes Carter’s cave like rooms because she can sleep the day away without guilt because she has no idea if the sun is up or the sun is down.
Happy birthday to our second baby. You make our family complete. Since it is yur birthday you can sleep 21 hours instead of 20.