Happy 5th Birthday Baby Girl!

Koira, my little Martini Girl, is turning five tomorrow. I can't believe it.

Here is the picture of Koira that was posted on Craigslist. I was a college student living in an apartment that didn't allow animals. I already had a cat who wasn't allowed, had ended a bad relationship a couple months earlier, and felt like getting a puppy. I didn't do the research or careful planning that I should have done. But this face was irresistible to me.

This next picture is one of the only two pictures, along with the one above, that I have of Koira before I brought her home. I have no other pictures of her first 8 weeks of life, so these are truly her baby pictures.

The day I picked Koira up. This picture has made it onto the blog a number of times. I celebrate Koira's Gotcha Day every year, and this is her Gotcha Day picture. She was a squirming little bundle of high energy puppy, smelling of puppy breath and faintly of pee. I had not planned to get a puppy, and had no idea of the adventures that were to come. Koira was the first of the litter of 6 puppies to go to her new home. I was so torn between them all (especially the other tri color, a male), but in the end, it just had to be her.

And Koira, bundled in her first sweater (which barely fits on a grown human's arm it is so tiny!), sleeping the day away. I believe this is the day she got her first round of puppy shots. She was wiped out for the entire day, poor thing.

Don't you just love the white on her nose? As an adult, the only white left is a few spots inside her nostrils, but as a pup, her nose was all spotty and adorable.

This was Koira's first doggie friend. A friend of mine in college saw my new puppy and just had to have one of her own. She picked this little girl up a couple weeks after I got Koira, and they played together regularly.

Koira used to fit on my shoulder. Who'd have imagined?

Our first trip to the beach. Koira has always loved the beach beyond reason. I love the total joy in her when we get out on the sand, and I can't resist running and playing with her all over again, just like she was still a little puppy.

My darling little girl. I can't believe you are turning five years old. And I can't believe how far we have come together.