Junior

This dog. She was our first baby. To say we love her is an understatement. We adore her. She's made it clear that although our family has grown, she is still the queen bee. We're quite happy to indulge her in this. Who are we kidding? We really have no choice.
Junior turned 6 years old yesterday. She celebrated with a raw lamb dinner and tons of her favourite salmon treats. It's hard to believe that 6 years have passed since we brought Junior home. As some of you may know, a few months after we moved to Calgary, Juney was diagnosed with epilepsy. Along with seizures, Juney experiences heightened sensitivity to stressful situations and feels quite insecure outside of our home and in the presence of new people and dogs. It makes me sad when I compare California Juney to Calgary Juney. We still see the sweet, affectionate and quirky companion that she's always been...unfortunately our friends here haven't had the pleasure. She becomes afraid when strangers are near and will bark incessantly. We often have to move Juney upstairs when we have guests and refrain from taking her on the walks and adventures she used to love. We can't risk bringing on a disruptive and traumatic seizure.
Our loved ones worried about how Juney might react to the arrival of Everett. Ty and I didn't worry. We knew that as long as we loved him, Juney would quickly learn to love him as well. Our hearts shine when we see Juney and Everett lovingly interact. I know, I know, it sounds a bit dramatic to speak of a dog so sentimentally - but she is a fiercely devoted member of our clan and in our eyes deserves as much love and reverence as any of us.
Happy Birthday, Junior. We love you!