The BIG 0-2

Today is Shea's birthday. Two years old! Wow, these two years have flown by! I can't believe that Shea was once this little puppy that could barely even open his eyes:

This morning Shea and I went through our normal routine. Well, as normal as possible for it being 28 degrees out. A far cry from the 38 it was yesterday morning. My uncle questioned if Shea knew it was his birthday. I don't think he did, and I didn't want him to think it was different than any other day until I got home from work. I would hate to think that he sat home in his crate knowing it was his birthday. He would feel so abandoned!

But, there was no abandonment for Shea today! He received love from all over the world! Ehhh, I guess it was more the east coast of the United States, but saying he received love from all over the world sounds much better. It almost seems pathetic that birthday wishes were sent from Florida, Connecticut, Massachussetts, Ohio, New York City, and a number of places in upstate New York. People really took time out of their day to extend their well wishes to Shea. Shea, the dog! Some came in the form of phone calls, computer messages, and also this one special message from Shea's Uncle Jon and cousin Diggy:

Jon and Diggy really miss Shea!

Shea loved all of these birthday wishes and I can tell he really appreciated everyone's efforts to make his second birthday special. Dogs have an uncanny way of showing appreciation; scratching, licking, and chasing their tails are the telltale signs.

Shea was lucky enough to receive a plethora of doggy treats for his birthday. As a lesson in following directions and measuring, my students were assigned to make Shea different kinds of birthday treats. The result was more dog treats than Shea can eat in the next year of his life. Okay, okay, I was exagerating. Maybe enough to last him the next week and a half. I laid them out in front of him, mind you some of each kind of treat, there are more. Shea just couldn't control himself and had to get a sneak preview in while I was taking this picture.

Look at all of those goodies! Obviously, I couldn't give him all of those things at once, so I trapped some of them inside the birthday canister my students made for him. He had to figure out how to get it open in order to get his treats.

To top Shea's birthday off, I cooked him a small steak for dinner and brought him to the dog park. He enjoyed every minute of it, relishing in the other dogs chasing him around while he had two tennis balls stuffed in his mouth.

The treats, the dinner, a trip to the dog park, and all of the special birthday wishes and attention were enough to make any dogs' day. However, one thing really topped Shea's birthday off. He got to video chat with Jeff. Although Shea can't see the screen as a normal human can, we can tell cause he has no concept that it is even there, he can hear the voices through the computer. When Jeff spoke to Shea, his ears perked up and he got real still. Then, his nose started going, sniffing the air around him, trying to find Jeff. I show Jeff Shea on the computer a lot. Usually Shea is asleep though. So, it was a special treat for Shea to hear Jeff talk to him over the computer. If only he could see him!