Happy Birthday, pup

My girl, Roxy, is seven years old today.

I'm not sure when and how this happened.  It seems just like yesterday that we brought her home:

A tenacious little ball of fluff she was; she looked like a tiny Ewok:

From the very beginning, she was adept at clearly communicating her likes and dislikes.
She really liked  her ball:

But she greatly disliked  being locked in the laundry room with the puppy pad:

And, although she didn't care much for school, she was able to graduate from puppy academy before moving to the farm:

...which is fortunate, because it takes a lot of knowledge and dedication to be a farm pup.

She is my faithful companion in everything I do:

She is the ever-vigilant watch dog:

She helped raise our flock of chickens from day old chicks:

And she insisted on being with them:

until the day Roopert the Rooster grew bigger than she:

Now, she just watches from afar.

She was, of course, on hand to personally greet the first six donkeys to arrive on Critter Farm back in 2008:

And Pete and Reggie, our Nigerian Dwarf goats, have been her goats from Day 1:

She takes her job with them very seriously:

And even though they are now quadruple her size and outweigh her by about 50 pounds, she is still the boss of them (which delights her to no end):

Roxy has had her share of challenges and there have been times when she hasn't felt her best:

But she is always up for new adventures:

and experiences:

And though some of them are a little unusual, she is always a good sport about them:

So, to celebrate the beginning of her 8th year of life, we had a small birthday party:

Roxy invited her favorite goats and waited patiently for her guests to arrive:

The guests, in their excitement, nibbled and licked the decorations:

These particular party guests were, unfortunately, quite impatient and more than a little pushy:

And, overall, they were not at all well behaved:

Somebody should really speak to their mother about their manners:

About the time the headbutting broke out, it was time for the party to end:

Roxy seemed more than ready to move her party into the people house:

So we did:

It was a much more civilized affair.

She really liked the flowers:

:-)