Measure Birthdays with your "happy age"

Humans have an event that they call BIRTH DAYS. They apply this name to the event that happens on the day which they left their mommy and became independent to breathe air on their own. Dad says humans call this “birth.” I had a birth too.

I remember Mom holding me so tight as a puppy. It felt good and I was happy.

Humans do special things on their “birthday.” Humans measure this birthday by something they call the year. In this way, on last Saturday, I was 9 years old. I have seen 9 Springtimes in my life so far. Mom and Dad and Karen and Steve and Georgiana and Arlene and John and Gordon all told me to have a happy day. Steve and Karen gave me a special present of four little cozy babies to play with. They squeak and they’re soft to touch and chew. Thanks!!!! John gave me a nice treat to eat and Mom and Dad gave me a special blueberry dessert after my lunch bone. Dad took me on a long walk. So it was a a nice day.

Meeting new friends like me. Here's me and Brandy in Rockport, Texas. We had a good time together in the lake.

But to me, this seems like an arbitrary measurement of your life. If you are going to count the number of times the earth goes around the sun as your age and let that guide you on how you should act, you might as well count the number of squirrels in a field and say that is your age.

Going with Dad on his photography trips when I can be loose and play. That's a good memory for me.

Us dogs don’t live as long as humans and we should have another way to measure our life. Our life needs a larger number than the few times the Earth circles the Sun. Every such Birthday for humans is a special day. They mark the day and add it to a count they call their age. They use that number to determine many things in their lives, like when to kiss, when to drive, when to drink, when to quit having fun, etc. They compare their ages to each other and decide how one should act to the other based on this number. They give presents to the person on that day and feed them special food. Sometimes they get to go out and play instead of work. That’s OK with me. (I usually get a little piece of the special food, like cake, on that day.)

Playing with other dogs on a Dog beach in California was a happy day.

For me, I’d rather make the marks that count my life measure the number of days that are special in my memories. I think that a dog should measure how many special times happen in their lives. I don’t mean just a walk or getting to go outside. I mean really fun times when you do something very special. For each one of those, you mark it and add it to your “happy age”. Then, when you die, you’ll know how much fun you’ve had while you were here.

How could I forget the great and happy times on the boat at Lake Powell? I felt the water on my face.

Some of the fun and memorable times that would make my “happy age” would be:

1. The day I met Mom and Dad and Genevieve. That was special because I was with my new family for the first time.

2. My first day when I could run outside and play all day in the white fluffy cold and icy stuff humans call snow!

3. My first long walk with Mom and Dad in Nederland, Colorado when we walked along a nice stream of water and I could play by myself.

4. When I first met my good canine friend Casey.

5. My first trip to a dog park in Boulder Colorado. It was fun to play with the other dogs.

6. My first visit to a Pet’s Mart. I could go shopping with Mom and Dad too!

7. My first trip in the big motorhome. I was scared but also very excited. It turned out to be fun.

8. Swimming in Henry’s Lake and playing with Mom and Dad when they would throw a stick to me.

9. When I was a puppy and I got to sleep on Genevieve’s lap for as long as I wanted.

10. Meeting Genevieve’s canine friend, Megan for the first time. We ran in the tall grass and played.

11. Seeing my first cows and barking at them.

12. Running after squirrels and actually catching one of them.

13. Meeting my Uncle Johnny and Aunt Linda and their dog Gus. And later, Mia.

14. Going on photography trips with Dad when we can get out and I can sniff around as much as I want.

15. My visit to the beach in California. It was a dog beach and I met a lot of canine friends and got to run a lot.

16. Getting to “glide” with Dad or Mom on their Segway. I could go anywhere with them as long as I stayed out of the way of the Segway.

17. Riding in a boat on Lake Powell with Mom and Dad and getting to jump off on an island and play. Feeling the water spray in my face as we raced across the big lake.

18. Playing with mom on a beach in Pacific Grove, California. I jumped high to fetch a stick. It was so much fun.

19. The first time I met Dad and Mom’s Granddaughter Chloe. She smelled so sweet.

Chloe is my "sister". She's really Dad and Mom's grandchild. She smelled and tasted so sweet. I love her.

Swimming in Henry's Lake at RedRock RV Park is a fun memory. Mom was tossing sticks for me to retrieve.

Well, I think you get the idea. I won’t list them all. But I can think of at least 65 memories that make me happy. So I guess you’d say I was 65 by that measure. Maybe this way I can’t have special presents every time the Earth goes around the Sun, but when I think of my “happy age” it will always remind me of the good times in my life. And that is a very special present.

Running as fast as I can on the beach and in the water is so much fun for me.

So, when you have a birthday, think about what you did to earn that special day. Think of all the good things that happened to you in those years and add them up. If it is greater than your human age, then you are truly a happy person or dog. If not, you need to spend more time making happy times for yourself.

Meeting my good beagle friend Casey is a day I won't forget.

Arf,

Reggie