Happy FOURTH Birthday, Sophie!

Yes, she's four. I acquired her as a re-homed little girl, just past her first birthday.  I can't believe three years have passed so quickly, with so much STUFF going on!   When I got her I had no idea where I'd be moving, I just knew it was time to get away, at least for a while.  When I got her, I had one newborn grandchild.  When I got her, I'd just quit a job with no idea what I'd do next.  Biggest, scariest leap of faith I ever took, and it was an adventure.  A wild ride, and expensive, and...I'm apparently gliding into a safe landing. 

Now, we are settled down, at least for now. 

This is the day I brought her home.  She was sooo well behaved, though obviously quite confused about what was going on - strange lady picked her up and took her away in a car!  WTF???

She and Murphy hit it off instantly - I'd been worried about his reaction to a new dog in his house, but he squealed with joy and has loved her ever since.  She was very quiet and OH SOOO BEING GOOD for the first few days, but then her personality started to blossom.

She loves TV.  At first it was just dogs on TV, but it expanded to football, musicals, cartoons...on and on.  She's so damn smart, she has figured out the type of music and speech cadences of announcers on drug ads - she knows that the happy patients taking Drug X for Condition Y are frequently shown romping with their dogs, and when a drug ad comes on she perks up and pays attention. She watches those ads, waiting to see if a dog appears.  I am NOT making that up. I have never seen anything like this.

 She and Murphy remain buddies - I am convinced that she has been keeping him alive and kicking. He had turned into such an old dog before she came into our lives, but her support and companionship has been the best thing for him.

She loves her BFF Layla.

Although she is still not comfortable with unfamiliar children (I have the impression she was handled roughly by kids at some point in her past) she adores "her" babies unconditionally.  I was concerned about how she'd be with them, after seeing her nervousness (not aggression, but flinching fear) around small kids in the neighborhood, especially if they were holding anything in their hands.  I think she'd been hit with toys in rough play before.  But Supergirl and Miss D can do no wrong in her eyes.  She loves them, and they love her back. 

Happy Fourth Birthday, my funny little bumblebee of a Boston Terrier!   You are one of a kind, and I'm so glad you are mine!