12 Years Old...

...and she's still got it!  (That's a cookie on her nose.)

Andrew and I got Aspen after we'd been married about 11 months. We were talking the other day how she's one of the few constants we've had almost the entire length of our marriage.  Since we got her, we've each had several different jobs, we've lived in 5 different houses in 2 different states, had different cars, gone from zero kids to 2, and the list goes on. 

She seems to be the only one that hasn't gotten the memo that she's "geriatric" according to vet standards.  We keep thinking she'll slow down, but she still tirelessly drops wet tennis balls in our laps, hoping for a chance to play fetch, and she sprints up and down the steps in the mornings if I'm not feeding her breakfast fast enough. This in spite of being 12 and having blown out her knees twice.  This week we had one of our first car rides where she didn't annoyingly yip almost the whole way; she still gets so excited to ride in the car like you'd expect of a younger dog.  And as many times as I've grumbled "She sheds faster than I can vacuum" or "When she's gone, I'll miss her, but I won't miss her hair," we find ourselves set on either a lab or a lab mix as our next four-legged family member because of her endless sweetness and how fun she is to play fetch with.  For now, we are happy to still have her with us, dog hair and all - we just joke that she (her hair) goes with us everywhere!