Nala's Sweet 16!

NALA is SIXTEEN 

It just boggles my mind a little bit when I think about it.  So what can I say about Nala?  If you know me well enough, you know that she has been a part of most of my life.  We got her when she was 9 months old.  I can't remember a whole lot about it.  I remember getting a dog and being pretty happy about it, and I can remember how hyper she was.  One of my first memories with her is me and my siblings sitting on the top of the couch because she was running all over the place.  I remember one time too I think my mom had to pull me in the bathroom door in the hallway or Nala would have rammed right into me [which has also happened before].  Over the years, she was just always there.  She came on trips with us, she swam with us, she ran with us.  I think, looking back on it now though, I didn't realize how much having her would change my whole life.

  

You see, Nala has been with us through everything.  Not that anything crazy or drastic has influenced our lives, but she is family.  She knows how to make us laugh, and sadly enough she knows how to make me cry.  Just the other day when I was taking some pictures with her, even in her old and getting frail state, she snuggled into my face and then I just felt my eyes burning up.  

Knowing that she loves me is one of the most precious things I have come to learn in my life.  

I firmly believe that dogs do know what you are feeling.  I will back up any research that says that.  There have been a number of times when I have been so so upset, and she knew.  I can remember this one time in particular, it was maybe a couple of years ago and I was just having a hard day and I started to cry and I sat on the living room floor.  I can remember the way she looked at me from where she was laying down.  Our eyes met and she got up and came right over and put her face right into mine.  She is a little silly in a weird way too, in those moments she would almost urge you to pet her, like she knew it would be relaxing.  And sometimes, it really wise.  Moments like those remind me, that what I have not only found in Nala is family, but also friendship.  

 know that she has been in my life for this long for a reason.  I don't know when she will decide to leave us or if we will have to make the decision to say good-bye, but I know she has had purpose in my family and in my life.  I love her more than I describe and I know it is a love that is unique.  She has been with us for 15 and a half years, and I know it won't be much longer.  She is wonderful, beautiful and so caring.  I don't know what I will ever do without her, and I will be sad to find out some day.  

happy birthday Nala, love your sister