dear atlas,

today, you are ten years old. can you believe it?

i don’t know how we’ll celebrate, but i’m guessing we’ll do what we always do, which means i’ll take you for a hike and then to the kitty store for a treat. (just between us, i suspect that if you try to sneak a second pig ear from the bin today, i won’t make you put it back.)

did you know that when i took this picture, you were two years old? if it weren’t for the silver hairs on your chin and your general disapproval of bouncy puppies, i’d think you hadn’t aged a day.

i loved you then and i love you now.

i love you when you escape out the front door and ignore me when i call you. i love you when you eat something gross and then smile open-mouthed at me so i can smell it. i love you when you kick me in your sleep. i love you when you have an accident in the house and i have to clean it up. i love you when you pull on your leash. i love you when you forget our “no barking in elizabeth’s ear in the car” policy and bark in my ear in the car. i love you when you are wet and muddy. i love you when you wake me up three times in the night to go to the bathroom and i am bleary-eyed and cross and incoherent.

i love you when you see that i’m crying and come and sit in front of me with wide eyes. i love you when you let out a contented sigh and close your eyes because i sat down on the bed next to you in the evening with a book. i love you when you race down the stairs because i asked you if you want to go on a hike or go on an adventure. i love you when you rest your head on the armrest in the car and stare at me while i’m driving. i love you when you bound back and forth on the trails and then stop in front of me with a giant smile. i love you when you steal and eat the empty toilet-paper roll.

you are the best four-legged buddy in the world. you are silly and saucy and serious and stubborn and smart and you can run circles around me even with a splint on your leg.

when i first saw you, my heart cracked open, and i have never been the same. you have taught me so much about life and love and i am a better and bigger person because of you.

happy birthday, my dear puppy. i love you more than all the stars in the sky and all the fish in the sea. i hope you know that, today and always.