17 Things at 17 Months

Kyle turned 17 months on Easter day. Because of the holiday, I'm a few days late getting this post up. In honor of our time together, here are 17 great memories with Kyle.

 

1. The day I picked Kyle up, I was amazed by his energy level and excited about his love of cuddling. A year later, those are still two of his most noticeable character traits.

 

2. Some of my favorite pictures of Kyle are from this day spent with my friends and their daughters. I love how much puppies and kids belong together. Kyle's starter raiser was a young girl, so he was overly enthusiastic about any young girl we came across when he was younger.

 

 3. Once or twice a year our puppy club visits a therapeutic boarding school. The students their love our puppies. This boy in particular didn't leave Kyle all morning. I love how much good cuddling a puppy can do for someone in need. This is one of my favorite meetings with Kyle as a result.

4. Kyle comes up with silly antics that constantly amuse me. I loved a stage he went through where he would sleep in weird positions on whatever was available.

5. Kyle is the best road trip dog  imaginable. He and I logged thousands of miles together, and he was a good sport for every one of them. I hope he goes to a family who loves to travel as much as Kyle and I do.

6. I think it is funny when humans and their dogs start looking alike. My sister snapped this picture on one of my visits to her house. Love it!

7. Kyle never gets bored of tug. Right after this shot was snapped, my nephew was on his belly as Kyle pulled him around. I have several similar pictures of Kyle and my students. Kyle is one strong boy.

8. Kyle is perfect in public. I trust him enough that I willingly handed the leash to my five-year-old nephew and let him walk Kyle around Walmart. You can tell Kyle still kept his loose leash and listened to my nephew. This dog rocks when he's working.

9. When I broke my foot last July, Kyle was a great support. Right after it happened, I went into the house and got Kyle out of the kennel because I needed puppy love to distract me from the pain. Throughout the ordeal, Kyle was a great sport and gave me extra cuddles. He even forgave the lack of frequent walks for a few weeks.

10. I seriously couldn't have written my thesis without Kyle. When I couldn't stand being cooped up indoors during the beautiful summer weather, Kyle's cuddly playfulness always gave me a much needed stress relief. I'm so glad he was part of my graduation!

11. Kyle became such a part of me that my friends started inviting me and Kyle together to things. He's game for any outing. Here we are at a corn maze. The weird smells, lighting, and sounds didn't phase him in the slightest. Not pictured are the several friends who invited us.

12. How can you be grumpy when your puppy is having fun? I woke up to the first snow of the year and would have grumbled if it weren't for Kyle's excitement. I love Kyle's new perspective on life.

13. Sometimes the biggest problems have the easiest solutions. Kyle constantly barked complaints of boredom in my classroom (or so I thought). Then, for Christmas I bought him a dog bed for school. From day one, the barking was solved. It turns out that he was uncomfortable on the hard floor.Sorry Kyle! Life lesson learned.

 

14. Kyle got incredibly muddy a day or two after I bathed him. I just laughed it off because Kyle's helped me learn to not sweat the small stuff.

15. This winter a "shortcut" on a hike turned our one hour trip into a five hour ordeal. My energizer bunny  was a trooper the whole time. Kyle crashed when we finally made it to the car, but he was ready to play again when we got home 15 minutes later. Nothing can slow this boy down.

16. I love Kyle's enthusiasm for chewing his bones. No hard toy stands a chance for a long life when he's around.

17. Mine isn't the only life Kyle has touched. Hundreds of students at the school where I teach have learned from Kyle. Kyle's already done plenty of service in his 17 months of life. I'm excited to see who else he will get to touch in the next stage of his adventures.

Kyle and I have less than three weeks left to make more memories together. We'll treasure each and every one of those moments.