MILESTONES: kolby's first birthday

July 21st 2003, it’s hard to believe I am already a year old. Seems like only yesterday I was learning to climb the stairs on my own. For my birthday Mom and Dad threw me a party and I got to invite my buddies from downstairs up for cake and ice cream. Mom picked out this yummy cake at the bakery shaped like a bone. And boy was it yummy! It had peanut butter icing… my favorite! My buddy Tyson and his little brother Jake got me this really cool tennis ball ring. We played for a while and our parents chatted. I wish everyday could be a birthday celebration!

A NEW CHAPTER: jack puppy

Hi! My name is Jack, as you probably already know. Kolby’s gonna take a break for a bit and I am gonna tell you all about me. So pull up a pillow and let's get started. Are you ready? Ok, here goes: I was born on a farm way out in the middle of no where. I spent my days splashing in the creek and my nights under the stars. A true "dogs life" if I may say. Then, one day, I was taking a nap under the old car with my brothers when I was awakened by some chatter. When I was pulled out from under the car, there was this really good smelling lady. Who was this? I was handed over to the lady and she just smiled at me. You could say we were a match from the start. After a few minutes of chatter, the man who came with the good smelling lady went to the truck and brought back a big red dog! YIKES! Who was this, and what's going on. The big red dog came over to me, sniffed and inspected me. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I figured I should check him out too. Only fair right? So I began to ask the big guy some questions...

"So, what's your name?" I asked.

"My name is Kolby," he responded. "And those are my parents," he said while looking back and the good smelling lady and man.

"Your parents! They can stand on two legs! That's so cool!" I couldn't believe it.

"Well they aren't my birth parents," Kolby explained. "They adopted me when I was a pup, about your age actually. And that's what they are doing for you. Things will be different after today. In a good way, I promise."

"Adopted? But why?" I asked in a bit of a worried tone. I liked it here on the farm. I got to play all day with my brothers... wait... now that I think about it... where are my brothers today? Oh my! They must've been adopted too!

"Don't worry," Kolby assured me. "Things will be great. We'll get to still play all the time, we get treats, go to the park, and you're gonna love all the toys we have."

"Well, I guess it does sound like a lot of fun. As long as I can stay with the nice lady, I really like her."

"That will work out great," Kolby said. "Cause I am a bit of a Daddy's boy, I honestly think that's why Mom wanted to drive all the way out here to see you. Because she wanted someone who would always be there for her. So it's great that you already like her so much."

Ok, this wasn't sounding too bad afterall. I guess it would be nice to have someone to call my own. And it sounds like the lady is looking for the same thing. So, now that I am a little more at ease, it's time to play! And with that, I lept at Kolby and we jumped around in the grass. YEAH! The people just laughed at us while they filled out some papers. Once everything was squared away it was time to leave. I kissed my furry Mom good-bye and waved to Dad off in the distance. I looked out the window as I sat on my new Mommy's lap and watched the trees go by. After a bit, I climbed to the backseat to hang out with my new big brother.

"So, where are we going?"

"It's off to the big city now," Kolby said with a big reassuring smile on his face.

THE HUNT: looking for a buddy

It’s the start of Spring 2004 and Mom is on the hunt. She would really like to have another pup in the house. She says I’ve gotten so big and independent, she feels I don’t need her much anymore since I do most things on my own. I think it bothers her some too that I hang more with Dad than her. I don’t mean to, I love them both very much. But Dad rough houses with me like I enjoy to. Mom doesn’t like to play like that. So her and Dad have started the search for a new brother or sister for me. Our first try was with puppy Griffin. He was a little guy. And there was just something about him that I wasn’t sure of. We took him home and he visited with everyone but I just had this feeling inside that something wasn’t right. That night he cried as to be expect and Mom and Dad did their best to comfort him. The next day when Mom and Dad went to work he just cried all day long sleeping a little here and there. That next morning I had to show Dad that I just didn’t feel good about this new puppy. But how? After thinking a bit it came to me… so when Dad picked up Griffin I growled at Dad. Surely he would put the two together and know that I had mixed feelings about this pup. I wasn’t sure if that got through though. So Dad put Griffin down and started to walk away, that’s when I scooped up Grif and tossed him down the hall. Not hard… and not far. I was just trying to show Dad something wasn’t right. But I ended up getting yelled at for that one. Apparently that wasn’t a good thing to do, throw the pup down the hall. Later that night Mom came home and she was real upset. I tried to find out what was wrong but she just kept holding Griffin and crying. Then they all left. I just sat there wondering what was going to happen next. A few hours later Mom and Dad returned, but no Griffin. I guess they understood me! Mom was really sad about it for a while. But she got better and wasn’t ever mad at me. I just hear her tell people it was for the best.Then the hunt started again. Mom and Dad were now looking into rescuing a Golden. After some interviews and visits. Turns out that wasn’t really working either. I think Mom was beginning to lose hope. Then Mom got a tip about some puppies, so she called and we were on the road again. This time to the way far out country. And that’s where we found Jack. I knew he was a good fella from the beginning the goofy butterball! On the way home he sat in the backseat with me and we took a nap for a bit because before we went home we had to stop by my cousin’s birthday party. We ended up showing up a little late… but I don’t think they minded really. Dad felt pretty bad though cause he really hates being late for anything. Jack was just excited to see all the kids. As I sat back and watched the little fella I knew this was the start a life long friendship. I mean just listen "Kolby and Jack", we were meant to be together!