A Letter to Ace on his Third Birthday

Dear Ace,

It has been three years now that your fat little paws have graced this Earth. You're currently sunbathing on the balcony, enjoying the cool breeze after a great walk in the city. You don't know it, but I often think about the day you first arrived in my life. You smelled of the farm you grew up on, your crate was spotless despite you spending 16 hours in a plane, at 4 months of age. You were perfect.

Your adolescence hit us fast, and I wasn't prepared too well for it. The people of MyCorgi saw me post about various issues I had with training you. You were headstrong, stubborn, obsessed with "found" food, and extremely independent. You never showed any affection, you were wary of strangers. It was an uphill battle to get you to be social with anything except other dogs. For that, my furry son, you were always gifted.

But then after you hit two years of age, you started to mellow out. Your human Dad stopped worrying about letting you off-lead in the forest. Your recall, as weak and non-existent as it first seemed, was getting stronger with every day. You still loved playing with other dogs, but you started to see value in human company too. We brought home your Border Collie sister and she seemed to make you want to be a better dog. That little black and white ball of fuzz soon turned into a monochromatic, leggy stork-dog hybrid and you started to follow her back to us.

And now, three years on in your life, you are one of the most well-behaved, responsive dogs people get the pleasure of meeting. If someone told me that my little arrogant, aloof Cardigan would one day come bounding back to me with great joy, on every recall, I'd have said that person was mad. But no, here you are, proving me wrong. You cuddle up against us at night, resting your sweet face against the crook of my elbow. You have the annoying habit of demanding to be let under the covers, only to ask to be let out five minutes later. You have quirks that annoy us, make us laugh, and most of all, help us realise you are a one-of-a-kind dog that I'm lucky to have in my life. I'm sorry if I ever doubted you, Ace. I know you love us too.

Love,

Mum

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Permalink Reply by susan on May 6, 2014 at 10:31am

Awww. This is a great tribute to your Ace. I've been thinking about how our pups can frustrate us with their puppyness, but I wouldn't give up a minute of it. They will grow and mature, hopefully into a good dog, and then we will miss the puppy they were.

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Permalink Reply by Anya Q. on May 6, 2014 at 11:45am

That was so sweet!

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Permalink Reply by Natalie, Lance &Tucker on May 6, 2014 at 12:59pm

Happy Birthday Ace!!! Tucker.wws only 3 when you were born and, now is six!! Where has the time gone, nice to hear about you!!

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Permalink Reply by Alison Prasavath on May 6, 2014 at 1:10pm

Happy 3rd birthday, Ace!

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on May 6, 2014 at 4:54pm

That was so sweet! Enjoy his "gotcha" day!

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on May 6, 2014 at 5:38pm

Happy Birthday Ace. I was among those who were reading those early posts and can vouch for the amount of time, effort, creativity and love you put into him. It does come back ten fold, doesn't it?

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Permalink Reply by Linda on May 6, 2014 at 7:21pm

Happy birthday Ace! What a wonderful tribute to him. I didn't have puppy time with my guys but I think our next one will be a puppy.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on May 6, 2014 at 8:55pm

Happy Birthday Ace! Some of them take a little longer to grow up than others. It's been a pleasure to watch his progress; you've done a wonderful job with him.

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Permalink Reply by Ludi on May 7, 2014 at 6:32am

Thank you all! Yes, there's definitely names here I recognise from those early times where I was at a loss for what to do with Ace and his resistance. :)

If there is one thing to take away from this, it's that any of you who have a dog new to the household - be it a puppy or an adopted adult - it will take time for things to run smoothly... sometimes a LOT longer than you might expect. Some folks are lucky, and their new family member seamlessly fits in within days. Others like myself may find themselves struggling, wondering if this was all a bad decision, feeling a great deal of frustration. It's all normal. Hang in there and you will soon feel the same bond I have now with Ace. :) It is a wonderful thing.