HappyhappyhappyHAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY, Mitzi!

Well, she made it!  There were times last year when I really wasn't sure she'd last the week, let alone the year.  One day she'd be on death's door, the next she was chasing me around the house.  And today, Tuesday January 19th, she is 15 years old and going strong.

She didn't much appreciate the birthday hat I placed on her head for her photoshoot.  She is plotting her revenge, I'm sure:

I'm gonna getcha fer this, Mama Jean! 

Mitzi has another special day later this week.  Saturday January 23rd is her Gotcha Day - the third anniversary of the day she came to live with me. I never in a million years would have imagined falling in love with a nine pound prissy little girl like her, but that day is also the third anniversary of the day I fell in love with her.  She wrapped me around her paws within an hour of getting her home, and she is so deeply connected to my heart that it seems she has always lived here. Saturday is a bittersweet day, however, as it is also the third anniversary of the day her Mama Anita, my cousin, passed away.  I feel so blessed that Anita entrusted me with Mitzi's care.

And as I type this, Mitzi is sitting here looking at me, making little growly sounds.  I think she is saying "If you are going to post that photo of me in that stoopid birthday hat,  at least add a more flattering one of me - the one you took after my trip to the spa last week. Mah fans would much rather see that one!"

So, because Mitzi says so, and because a Birthday Girl should always get her wish, here again is my fifteen-years-young heartdog:

Happy Birthday, Mitzi.  I love you to bits!