In Honour of My Dog's Fifth Birthday

Daisy is a complicated dog. A dog who does her own thing. She's a golden retriever without many golden retriever traits. She doesn't like children (though she tries her best not to get annoyed at them. only sometimes works) and she doesn't like people in general. If she puts her head on your chin, even if all she wants is bread and not your cuddles, you're a chosen one. Whether you like it or not, you're part of the family now, her inner circle of maximum 10 people.

We don't really know why she's like that. We got a golden retriever because they're friendly and good natured. But we love her so much and project a goofy personality onto her which she shows us when she's in a good mood. Highlights of her day are the Bread Dance, a wiggle in the kitchen when she wants her favourite snack, a run around the park with her dog friend, Lola, and a sneak onto the couch or around the whole house when she thinks she'll get away with it.

She rarely licks or approaches people for reasons of affection. Which is a shame, because she's so pretty that people always long for it. Sometimes she wants a scratch, usually just the food you're eating or preparing. She's a dog of her own agenda. She can do tricks like beg, sit, paw, crawl, but when she is instructed to do them and she doesn't feel like it, she'll just lie down in protest.

When she was a puppy she used to run around in high speed circuits when something amused or excited her. She does that more sparingly now, but people are always surprised to learn how old she is because she's incredibly sprightly. She plays in the garden for hours on end, chasing various items around the garden and then chasing her new and old dog friends when she sees them.

She's always going to be a bit of a mystery, and never going to be the good, placid, affectionate golden retriever we had anticipated. Taking care of her is a huge task I wouldn't ask of anyone she doesn't know well. Nevertheless, we love her so much, and her goofy antics forever light up our days. And seeing as I can't be with her today (not that she'd have any clue that it was her special day), I'll wish her an internet happy birthday and share these cute pictures of my big puppy from 3 weeks ago to you!

Happy Birthday, Daisy!

Anna

p.s. daisy has an instagram for anyone who wishes to see more of her!