Happy 6th Birthday, Tess!

Hard to believe that today (April Fool's Day) is our Tess' 6th birthday. Seems like yesterday that she was the tiny puppy who came to bring such joy to our world. You see, Tess came to us four months after we lost the second of our first Dalmatian pair. At that point, I was hurting so badly that I wasn't sure I ever wanted another dog. I finally gave in to Jim's requests for another Dal, although I told him that I would never love this puppy the way I loved the first two Dals we owned (you see how that's worked out, huh?)

So a series of circumstances fell into place and Tess came to live with us (see "Tagged" post to read how that happened). Tess introduced us to agility and the many friends we've made in the sport. She's a wonderful dog to live with and is as happy and silly as a Dal can be.

Here's a couple of photos of Tess while she was still with her breeder, Joni:

Below is a photo from the day Tess came home with us. She immediately made herself at home and decided that we weren't having enough fun, so she should liven things up a bit! The Dachshund in the photo is Tiny. He was my Mom's dog and came to live with us after she passed away in 2000. Tiny was nearly 16 years old at this point and he was a good sport about tolerating Tess' antics. He was Tess' companion and buddy until he went to join Dottie and Tigger at the Rainbow Bridge when Tess was about six months old.

Happy Birthday to our beautiful Tess, Starwood's Touched by an Angel! I hope she continues to spread her spotted joy for many years to come. Love ya, Tessie!!