I count down the days until you are mine. From the moment I pick you up for the first time and look into the eyes that will never judge or hate. From the moment I hold you tight on the car ride home, reassuring you that everything is okay. I promise to never stop loving you.

There will be times when I get frustrated. Like the little gifts you will leave here and there throughout the house that I have to clean. Or that new pair of boots I bought recently that were the perfect treat for your budding teeth. I will shout and fuss. But I'll immediately regret it, because when I look into those same eyes, I see only innocence. And all is forgotten.

I will watch you get bigger...albeit faster than I would like. The once timid whimper becomes a boisterous bark. Your capacity for playfulness and energy will never stop surprising me. As you grow, my wallet shrinks, because you will only have the finest things in life (yes, despite what anyone says, that matching collar, leash and bed set was a mandatory purchase).

You will have me wrapped around your paw. Pretty much anything that is mine becomes yours. We will share a bed, ice cream, hikes, even watch Netflix together. If someone insults you, they are insulting me. My friends will ask why I never hang out anymore, and I always give them some lame excuse like "I'm too tired from work". I really just want to cuddle with you and watch Courage the Cowardly Dog reruns.

People will give strange looks when I allow you to kiss my face. It's okay though, they will never understand a love like ours.

You will watch me laugh. You will watch me cry. People will come and go out of my life and you will witness it all. But you will always be there when they are gone. When I am sitting on the couch in tears over some guy, you will look at me with those eyes that only know compassion. How do you only feel love and nothing else? If only humans were more like this.

I can't always be with you every second of the day, and for that I am truly sorry. If it were up to me, I would take you everywhere, because if any creature deserves to see the beauty of the world, it's you. You don't take it for granted. You look at it with unbiased eyes and a wagging tail, a perspective I don't believe I will ever be capable of.

There will be moments when you want to get away from me...like when I try to smother you with my love, or we take the dreaded car ride to the vet. Even when you smell like a horse farm and I have to drag you into the bathtub for a much needed wash. You think you're being punished, but trust me, it's for your own good. At times I'll get jealous when I introduce you to new people and you pay more attention to them than me. But I know I'm being petty, and you just have an endless capacity for affection. That's why everyone adores you.

As years pass, we will age together. When my hair grows longer, yours will get whiter. You won't be as spry as you used to be, but that's okay, life happens. What once seemed easy, like running after a ball, now becomes complicated--don't worry though, I'll be there to help you. I'll be there to carry you when you cannot walk anymore. To put drops in your eyes, or make sure you take your pills (even though you'll probably be smart enough to know my "hide the pill in the treat" scam).

And I'll be there when you take your last breath. It will be one of the hardest moments in my life, but I'll be strong for you. Just like all the times you have been strong for me. You brought so much love and happiness into my life, and I am forever grateful. And no matter how many others may come after you, just remember you were always my first. My sweet baby, I promise to never stop loving you.

Love, Your Best Friend