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Less than a year ago, our family life changed. After having a dog-free household for years, we adopted a new puppy. The day we brought Charley home, September 1, she was tiny enough to fit into my two palms. The first thing she did was “den” under our dining room table and get accustomed to her new home. Since then, she has grown bigger, gotten smarter, become lovelier and made her home in our hearts.

And while it’s no longer possible to carry her in the palms (it’s really more like carrying a toddler around), she’s still the little girl we brought home in the fall - just one year older. I was going to spend the afternoon in the sunshine at the beach with her as a birthday treat, but the rain is falling in Courtenay. Instead, she’s curled up next to me as I type her tribute.

As we celebrate our girl’s first birthday, here’s a quick look back on her first year in pictures and video.

Turns out she’s just as much of a snow bunny as her big sister!

Few dogs are this photogenic all the time…

P.S. Charley loves the new chew toy she got from her Auntie Becky!

Growing up, we had cats in the household. When I was very young, it was Tia. After she passed away we got Murphy. Murphy had a restless spirit and didn’t stick around for long. Never did we own dogs and, in truth, never did I hold much of an affinity for them. My Opa had dogs while I was growing up, and though I loved his last dog, Brady, cuddling and playing was never something I did.

By the time I was 20 years old, for no reason in particular, I was afraid of dogs. In retrospect, this was probably due to hearing about canine attacks in the news. I had convinced myself that if I got too close to any dog, the same would happen to me. That being said, I avoided all dogs at all costs.

Photo: This Year’s Love on Flickr

On Boxing Day, 2003 I was still living in the Comox Valley. Our home is in the rural countryside, and the homes on our street are few and far between. I decided to take a snow-filled walk in the silent afternoon, the only audible sound was the snow crunching under foot. As I rounded the corner, I saw a dog sitting in the middle of the road at the top of the street and less than 200 feet in front of me.

Determined to face my fear, I thought my best chance would be to walk a wide circle around the rather large dog, avoid eye contact and pray that he wouldn’t notice me. What a fool I was. I started inching closer…150 feet…100 feet…50 feet. Within the last few yards, the dog stood up and began a slow trot in my immediate direction. “Oh god, I’m toast.” I started to panic on the inside.

As the beast closed in, I began to realize just how large my soon-to-be opponent really was. There was nowhere I could run and nowhere I could hide. The dog was in front of me, up on its hind legs with its paws on my shoulders. I was no match for this animal’s strength and within a split second, found myself pushed backwards into a snowbank; the dog was now on top of me.

And then he started licking my face. All I could do was laugh.

To say this caught me off guard and entirely by surprise is an understatement. After a few moments, I picked myself up out of the snow to learn that I had a new walking companion. The dog, who I soon learned was called Rowdy, lived at a house just up the street and, despite his gargantuan frame, was only a year old. This was a canine who, when standing upright, was taller than me. I’m 5’9”.

And so, this became our routine and Rowdy became my buddy. Each day I’d come home from work to find Rowdy sitting on my doorstep waiting for his walk. Often on weekends, he’d sniff outside my bedroom window and let out a few little barks to beg me to come outside and play. Sadly, his owner spent no time with him and never walked him. This escalated to the point where the man asked me if I’d take over walking duties because he didn’t have the time (or the desire, I expect). Heartbroken at the thought, there was no way I could neglect the task.

He was big and furry and smelly and muddy but I loved him. Above all else, he was entirely loyal and loved me back equally. It was less than half a year later that I moved back to Vancouver. Upon my return visits home, I’d often check for Rowdy but it wasn’t long before he disappeared altogether. I like to think he ran away and found a farm that really wanted him.

Since that time in my life, nearly five years ago, I have grown to develop an immense love for all dogs. Last year, as many of you know, our family finally adopted a new dog – our first since Brady was put down in 2001. Charley has quickly grown to be an integral part of our family and daily life. She’s perfect with a big fluffy beard, naturally precocious and entirely loving. Charley brought new life to our family’s home.

And today, this Friday the 14th, I find myself sitting in my office and entirely restless for the end of the day. As I so often do several times each year, I am taking care of my best friend’s dogs. But in truth, it’s no task at all. There are few things that feel better than walking through the front door after a day at work to find their tiny paws resting on my thighs, aching to be picked up and cuddled. In fact, the only thing that makes me feel more content is waking in the morning to find Casey coiled up in the nook of my arm and Benji playfully pawing at his own face while lying on my chest in an adorable attempt to wake me.

How anyone couldn’t - or wouldn’t – be a dog lover is completely beyond me.

I was finally able to capture Charley on camera and shoot a little video. So without further adieu, I present to you Charley, a dental chew and the squeakiest dog toy ever.

This babygirl is getting bigger all the time. She wiggles like a worm, so getting any pictures of her that aren’t completely blurry is a near-impossibility.

Do this.

I’ve only been on the Island for 24 hours and it’s easily been awesome so far. I spent the day with Charley doing mostly nothing, but we did spend a sunshiney afternoon with my beautiful friend Bethany and her babygirl, Ruthie. It’s nice to just breathe.

If you’re on the Island too and looking for something to do, here are a couple options that guarantee fun…

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The snow hasn’t started to fall, but the Comox Valley’s alpine destination is kicking things off. From October 5-8, celebrate your love of all things beer and Bavarian at Mt. Washington. Fat Teddy’s Bar and Grill, located in the lodge at the bottom of the Eagle chair, is featuring various Oktoberfest brews and live entertainment with The Beer Barrel Band. I can’t vouch for the quality of music with a name like that, but go with the right attitude and you’ll have a great time. As an added bonus, a couple of Warren Miller’s adrenaline-soaked films will be screened on Sunday and Monday. Visit the Mt. Washington website for more details.

While you’re up there, get ready for the winter with pre-season deals in the Mtn Tek and Altitude Gift & Sport shops. New gear is also in stock, and you can save anywhere from 30-70% on last year’s equipment. For those of you that are local to the Valley, time is running out to pick up your season’s pass at early bird prices. This year they’ve also added a Night Pass, so be sure to check that out as a money-saving alternative.

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Slope not your style? There’s always mini golf. Paradise Fun Park, on the old highway in one of my favourite little towns - Parksville, is always a barrel of monkeys. The links are only open for another week or two since operations shut down in mid-October, so get your last few swings in while you can. Of course, this is just a shameless plug for my friend Toni since his family owns the park. As a matter of fact, you’ll find me hittin’ around neon balls and kicking ass at pinball tomorrow afternoon. Actually, to be more specific, I’ll be kicking Toni’s ass at pinball.

Photo courtesy of jdgemm on Flickr

If mini golf isn’t enough of a challenge for you, try the arcade, bumper boats or tasty ice cream instead. For more information, visit Paradise Fun Park’s website.

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I’ll hopefully be able to give you another update tomorrow evening, as well as post new pictures of Charley. I can’t even begin to tell you all how much she’s grown over the last month. When she was first adopted, she weighed in at 4.5 pounds, and now she’s pushing 8. I swear with every pound, she gets even cuter.

So I’m sitting here at the reception desk at my firm’s office. Why, you ask? No, I’m not a receptionist, but each of us has to take one turn per week covering the receptionist during her lunch break. It’s absolute torture due to the sheer volume of boredom that doing so induces, but it also gives me an hour to blog. I’ve realized that I really have nothing pertinent to blog about today, so consider this to be your Tuesday grab-bag.

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As you will recall, a few days ago I mentioned the upcoming “Sex and the City movie that’s been slated for a May, 2008 release. I wish that I had more details to share with you, but I don’t. I’ve been slamming through season 4 on DVD because it’s always something that’s good for a girl to revisit. If you need a fix until next spring, that’d be my recommendation. However, here’s another sneak peek at how fabulous the ladies are looking for their silver screen debut.

In anticipation of the miles of style that I know will come from this film, and to coincide with my mom’s week-long visit commencing tomorrow, mumsy and I will be making our maiden voyage to the H&M at Coquitlam Centre. Something tells me I’m going to find something mighty nice.

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Allow me to take a second to show you just how freakin’ cute Ms. Charley is getting…

Tomorrow is her three-month birthday and she’s growing like a weed. And by weed, I mean something pretty like a pink flower. I won’t see her until next Wednesday night, but I am by far excited to cuddle her in my arms again. Never before has there been such a perfect puppy.

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This coming Sunday, September 30 is B.C. Rivers Day 2007 in the Province of British Columbia. For almost anyone who has grown up in B.C., visiting a local river is seemingly a part of any childhood. For my brother and I, it was the Comox Valley’s Puntledge River.

Photo courtesy of digital image fan on Flickr

B.C. Rivers Day 2007 is designed to create public awareness concerning the precious waterways of this province. According to the Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia’s (ORCBC) website, province-wide events will include river clean-ups, riverside nature walks, school projects, community festivals and habitat enhancements. To learn more about how your community is celebrating B.C. Rivers Day 2007, visit the official website.

Last week I managed to snag Oasis’ freshman effort, “Definitely Maybe,” at one of the used record shops on Granville street and have been reliving my high school days ever since. There are tons of charming little details to the record that I am in love with, one in particular on a song called Rock ‘n’ Roll Star. Due to a very strong Manchester accent, Liam Gallagher pronounces the word “sunshine” more like “sune-shine,” and it causes my ears to giggle in sheer delight every single time. Don’t believe me? Go buy the record.

Photo courtesy of Paperback Writer on Flickr

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I have a question for you: how could anyone not love dogs?

Family dinners at Chris and Chloe’s always turn into Dogstocks, with the human to dog ratio being 8:5. That’s more than 50%. However, no one can say that dogs don’t make something great even greater. As much as having Benji glued to my hip can sometimes induce eye-rolling, having him constantly craving cuddles makes me equally happy too.

For as long as I can remember, our family has always had dogs. When I was a little girl, it was Suki. After she passed from old age, we got Brady. Brady lived to be well over 14 years old until we finally had to put her down.

Last week, after being dog-less for more than five years, we adopted Charley. Being a puppy, she’s thus far into everything and a whole lot more. She’s taken to chewing on anything she can get her tiny teeth into. Perhaps the cutest thing so far happens when she’s outside. My mom or aunt will water the hanging baskets on our patio, and Charley likes to perch herself underneath to catch the water droplets on her little pink tongue. However, most of the drops end up hitting her on her forhead. This weekend I’ll be bathing her for the first time myself (my aunt and mom attempted on Sunday), so that should be a photo-riffic experience.

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A couple of weeks ago that little hottie biscotti, Miss604, attended the launch party for the new Vancouver Canucks team logo. In true Miss604 fashion, she soon after shared with the online world what the new logo looks like and, more specifically, what the new logo looks like plastered across the Junior 604s.

Next Monday, the Canucks are taking on the Anaheim Ducks at GM Place during a pre-season game. Becky and I snagged tickets from my friend Craig (who’s a season ticket holder), and I do believe this game promises to be a good one. It’s the first time our hometown heroes will square off against Todd Bertuzzi since his trade to California. Regardless if we win or lose, you can be assured that both my blog and Becky’s will be plastered with not only a re-cap, but also photos of two hot girls drinking beer and rockin’ the new logo.

How can anyone lose with that combination?

Photo courtesy of Miss604 on Flickr

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Looks like I got a bit of my mojo back, kids. But for now, I’ve got a tummy to fill and a kitchen to clean and a body to shower.

Charley has offically spent more than 24 hours at her new home and I am pleased as punch to report that she’s adapting very, very well. She only woke up twice during the night and actually went quite nicely into her kennel when it was bedtime. I imagine that yesterday was her first real time being outside much, so it was a little bit intimidating.

However, today she’s getting more and more used to being out in the open and had a blast playing in the grass. She’s sniffing and exploring and nipping at the grass. She’s also realized her love for chasing feet and burrowing herself in my cascading golden hair. I recorded the little videoclip below (it’s only about a minute and a half) of her playing outside in the yard. She’s a fast little monkey!

In July, I brought Benji and Casey with me to the Island on a trip over to visit my family. Being a family that has always loved and owned dogs, having two around for a few days reminded us that it was definitely time to adopt a new one after having put down our last dog about six years ago. Since then, my aunt and I made near-weekly trips to the local pet store. Neither of us really had much of a breed preference, but we just knew that when we saw the right dog, we’d know.

Today was that day and Charley was that dog. Last week I had cuddled a shih tzu puppy, one that was quite cute but just not quite right. Today we returned to Petland to find two little nine-week-old mini Australian shepherds, a brother and sister.

Charley was born on June 26 to Impy and Bobby. She’s loveable and rambuncious, loves to play and paw you. She’s already taken to licking my face and lips at every opportunity, and her most charming attribute so far is that she loves to, quite literally, hop like a bunny.

I know that she’s a more-than-welcome addition to our family and I look forward to watching her grow and learn over the coming years. Because she’s of a herding breed, agility courses when she’s a bit older will be essential, which will no doubt prove to be interesting. Bedtime is only a few hours away, so in the morning I’ll fill you in on how many hours of sleep I actually get. I’m also hoping that I’ll be able to capture the “hopping puppy” on video tomorrow, so check back for that as well.

In the meantime, check out my Flickr for a few more photos.