Today, 20th February, is apparently ‘Love Your Pet’ Day! I don’t know who makes this stuff up, and who these pet owners are who need a specific day to love their pet, but hey, all blog post inspiration is good. So here we go, Ten Things I Love About Kimber.

One: I love the fact that she won’t go to bed until I give her socks to carry upstairs. Her preference is the socks that I’m actually wearing, which means I have to take them off, ball them up and give them to her. She sits and stares at me, not budging until I’ve given her my socks. Who says dogs aren’t quirky?!

Two: I love her facial expressions. If you think dogs only have one facial expression, think again. When Kimber wants you to throw her ball for her she stares at the ball, then sideways at you, and then back at the ball, all the time with a determined look on her face. It’s a different expression from the hopeful one she shoots me when she wants me to come and play with her or give her a snack. And different again from the smile she has on her face when she’s happy. 

Three: I love her sweet, gentle soul. She is certainly a pretty dog, but her soul is what makes her truly beautiful. She is so good with my nieces and nephews, and if you’re sad or sick she will come and cuddle up to you. Or bring you her ball because she thinks it will cheer you up. When I was having a bad dream once, I woke up to her licking my hand and the side of my face. If that’s not adorable I don’t know what is. 

Four: I love how gently she takes treats. Some dogs practically take your hand off with the treat, but Kimber takes it so gently, that if you weren’t looking you’d barely know that she’d taken it. 

Five: I love how she stockpiles snacks. In particular duck-wrapped rawhide chews. She used to love them, but then she started hiding them instead of eating them. Occasionally she produces one from nowhere and chews it, but mainly they hide under her bed and under our bedcovers at the bottom of the bed. They move around, so it’s a nice surprise when you come across one. 

Six: I love the way she gets my attention when I’m working. She spends most of the time that I’m working either sleeping in her bed next to my desk, or barking at people or leaves that pass by the house. But when she gets bored of that she stands next to my chair, gets on her hind legs, and taps me on the arm with her paw. It’s the cutest. 

Seven: I love her snuggles. I’ve heard that dogs don’t like cuddles, and while Kimber doesn’t like to be picked up and cuddled, she absolutely loves to snuggle. Her favourite thing to do is hug your arm, like those Huggy Bear toys in the ’80s. She maneouvres herself so that her body is pressed up against your leg and then somehow manages to trap your arm between her legs. It’s not always a very comfortable way to sit, but as soon as you remove your arm she somehow manages to recapture it immediately. 

Eight: I love how much she loves her daddy. Ever since she spent the three hour journey home on his lap as a tiny puppy they have shared the most amazing bond. We made sure that she had lots of opportunity to bond with him once she was home, and every day since she has sat at the front window watching him go to work. For some reason she bawls her head off if he gets in a taxi: don’t know what that’s all about. 

Nine: I love that even though she’s five years old, she can still behave like a puppy. She loves to scamper through autumn leaves, and winter frost, and don’t get me started on snow. But the times I see her most like a puppy is when we are up in Kenmore, up at the Black Rock Viewpoint, and especially along the northside river path. There she will scamper through the mud that’s been churned up by the horses, and find bits of wood to throw up in the air and chase. Sometimes she also crosses the ditch onto the golf course, but as she’s never yet stolen a golf ball we’ll gloss over that kind of puppy behaviour. Although there are some golfers who would probably welcome a golf ball thief in their midst. I wonder what the golf rules are about that?

Ten: I love how sweet she is when she’s asleep. She has so many sleeping positions: curled up in a tight ball; on her back with her feet in the air; flat out as if she’s just been shot; on her tummy doing an impression of a rug; snuggled right up to one or other of us; sprawled out on her sofa; or curled up with her head on a cushion. She also has the sweetest little snore. Whenever I see her sleeping my heart melts and I think how lucky I am that such a wonderful wee furball chose us. She brings us joy every single day and we couldn’t love her more.