Wordless Wednesday: Rudy Has a Birthday

Our yellow Labrador Retriever puppy is a puppy no more.  Rudy celebrated his birthday last week and he's now one year old.  Rudy's milestone came on the heals of Tucker's death, so we weren't really feeling like much of a party.  However, we knew we wanted to celebrate and that a celebration of life was, truly, just what we needed.

You'll find no party hats on dogs here.  Instead, photos (probably too many) of Rudy's big day.  

A bit of background.  We live in a rural area.  The closest town has only one place that welcomes dogs.  We thought it would be fun to let Rudy pick his own gifts, so Rudy went shopping. 

Rudy examined a red Jolly Ball, but the photographer took too long to focus.  Rudy's attention had already strayed to checking out other shoppers.

 

Okay, back to shopping.  Hmmm... lots of balls!  But where are the squeaking toys?

Sniff, sniff... Food!  They have eats here!

A tire with a rope looks good.  Ands smells a whole lot like a blue one at home...

How about a squeaking football?

At home again, you'll see that our very own Gater Boy (aka Bitey Whitey, Rudy) chose a gater toy.  It's pretty cool.  The fleece gater cover fits over a water bottle that has a removable cap which emits horrible crying noises.  That coupled with the crackling of the water bottle makes it a current favorite.  And an object worth a whole lot of examination - from top to bottom.  Especially the bottom.

They say you should stick with your first choice and Rudy did.  

That bright red Jolly Ball came home with us, too.  

Jeffie was thrilled with Rudy's selection.

Since Rudy was the birthday boy, Jeffie even let him "win."

Well, there had to be a few challenges or the game isn't fun.  

Right?  Right.

Happy Birthday, Rudy!