Yikes, I just heard mom hooting and hollering and ran into her room to make sure she was ok because that’s what ‘good’ therapy dogs do-we check up on our peeps when they are making a ruckus noise. Sam here…with mom…sort of (she’s in her office trying to catch up on things). She’s been up to her eyeballs in alligators lately and hasn’t stayed on top of reading blogs (seriously, I’m surprised my walking time hasn’t been affected she’s been so busy). She just now realized what was in her inbox. “I heard that!”

Oops, guess I need to keep my voice down. So…I thought I’d help her out and respond to the tag from our friend, Jen over at My Brown Newfies & Me for the 8 Photos of Happiness challenge. What a great honor, Jen, thank you so much! Did you know my favorite dog in our pet therapy group is a chocolate Newfie, Truffles. She makes my head swoon. Mom said there have been oodles of pawsome photos recently and she shared a few with me before she got so busy. Man, you guys are super talented photographers, you know that? And what a terrific challenge Ariel’s Little Corner of the Internet created-what a neat idea, especially this day and age where there is way too much unpleasant stuff galore.

I read the rules and here’s the fine print disclosure (mom’s legal background seems to be rubbing off on me now-awk!):

1. Thank the person who tagged you.
2. Give a shout out to the originator, Ariel’s Little Corner of the Internet.
3. Post 8 photos that make you happy.
4. Give a brief description of each photo.
5. Tag up to 10 people to participate.

Seems like everyone we follow has already been tagged and dutifully posted their photos (I might add). “I heard that!!” (sheesh, mom’s hearing seems to be almost as good as mine). So we’ll dispense with nominating anyone else since you guys all did it right away. “I heard that one as well!”

At any rate, here are our favorite photos of happiness and why:

1.

I love hiding in mom’s garden and this year the lupines gave me great cover. She thought I’d wandered off out of the yard while she was hard at work in the garden and kind of panicked. Heh, heh.

2.

Mom said I should consider adding a photo from when I first joined her. See, I have a long history of being a bit of a lovable muppet. Me from over 7 years ago.

3.

Mom likes this one where I got snuggly under a blanket because that’s how I roll during wintertime. And on really cold nights, I keep mom’s feet warm, course she can’t feel them because I lay across her shins and cut off her circulation. 😉

4.

We both love firemen and Captain Rob is a big favorite. He let me sit in the tiny Engine 1/2. I accidentally turned on the alarm when I was in the cab with my bum. Freaked us all out but they were very nice to me in spite of it.

5.

Pretzel dog! Hee, hee, mom gets her neck in a twist when I do this. If she laughs at me, I run up to her and give her the big-time tail wag treatment, otherwise, I practice being exorcised on the floor till I can think of something else to entertain her. I think I must have been a bird in a previous life.

6.

I totally love my mom and I think she kind of likes me too. We have a “thang” for each other. Can you tell?

7.

This is one of our happiest photo memories. It was a gorgeous day and mom took me to the park to make a new friend with Ariane from DelaFoto Photography. She gives great ear scratches in addition to taking marvelous photos. Here she got my best side.

8.

Last but definitely not least, our profile pic also from the park photo shoot. When mom laid down in the grass, I just had to snuggle up and let her know how much I love her. [Mom here: is there anything sweeter than this photo, yeah, I didn’t think so either]

Thanks again to Jen for giving us the opportunity to share our favorite moments of happiness. Any excuse to smile and I’m all for it! So is mom.

Live, love, bark! <3