A Letter To My Dog On Her 10th Birthday
Dear Nala, Sit. We need to talk.
Today you are ten years older than the eight-month-old puppy that landed in the backseat of my Jetta, on May 11, 2011. So I think you’re old enough to learn about how our paths intersected. I’ll start by saying this, after a decade, I remain certain of a few things, you are the best thing that has ever happened in the parking lot of a Burger King, the most valuable item to ever be sold on Craigslist, you’ve inherited the Taurus sign, but you really give me warm Cancer vibes. Chicken soup is the way to your heart, but you will never turn down a chipotle bowl or granny smith apple, you’re more spoiled than an Upper East Side trust fund brat, and generally speaking, you bark and I jump.
I literally woke up that sunny May morning, and thought to myself “I want a dog and I am getting a dog TODAY!”
Having propped open my HP Laptop (which later crashed and erased all traces of your childhood with me… yes I’m still devastated), I began my search for local pet adoptions, but none of the options really called out my name. With Amazon not being my thing yet, I continued onto Craigslist. I browsed through the Phoenix area’s pet sale section and after an hour or so, I found a light-brown coat chihuahua, by the name of “Penny”.
After a few email exchanges with “Brandi”, I hopped in my car and headed to North Scottsdale. “Brandi” was late and I was freaking out wondering if she had a change of heart. Some 30 minutes later she texted me and said she had arrived. Subsequently, I saw two women get out of a black sedan that was parked diagonally behind me. I unlocked my car to get out of the vehicle and greet you all, but Brandi’s [girl]friend opened my backdoor, threw in your tent, Winnie the Pooh comforter, and lightly threw you into the back seat. Brandi asked me if I “got the money?” — the rest was history.
They hurried off to their car, and as they walked away I asked if you had your shots and one of them (still not sure which) said “yeah, we’ll email ‘em.” I never got the email, but fortunately, I was able to take care of a vet’s visit for you that week. Once we got back to my apartment, I bathed you, fed you pastrami meat from Chompie’s, and immediately decided to rename you.
Your intelligence and dogo-nality reminded me of a character in one of my favorite movies of all time, and so I named you Nala. Want to know a secret? In the movie of my life, you are my favorite character, so I guess it works out.
Get Karen Lee’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
My dearest girl, for the last ten years you have brought joy to my life I never knew possible until the day I met you. You flirt with my nerves when you destroy carpets, and have poop Olympics all over my living room (and my friends’ homes too), but you manage to pout your cute face and I quickly realize I can’t stay mad at you. From roommates, to friends, to family, boyfriends, and strangers, you have managed to bring a smile to everyone’s face. Lately, your breath has been kickin’, and the smiles slowly come with 10 seconds of people holding their breath, but we will get to that tooth I promise. Back to the mushy stuff.
Over the course of the last decade, there have been many changes that have occurred in our lives, and I want to thank you for inspiring me on my journey to date whether you were on my lap, curled against my stomach, clapping on your back for attention, walking across my laptop during my all-nighters, or keeping my mom alive. Home is a feeling, and you are living proof of that.
Perhaps today is not the day you actually blessed this earth with your arrival, but it is the day Nala was born, the day you sweet girl decided to move into my heart and leave very little room for anyone else.
Ten years is a long time, we have matching patches of grey hair now, but we have forever more to go, so let’s keep making them look good. Whoever they is, [they say], that “dogs pick their owners — dogs have a way of finding them.” So I can’t sit here and say nothing good has ever happened to me when I wake up to you every single day. I have never known a loyalty like yours, a heart so warm, a spirit so calm. You make me question if angels really have wings because I’m starting to believe they actually have four legs, wag their tails at the sight of food, and are fluent in the bark.
Fuck footprints in the sand, I prefer paw prints on my heart.
You’ve saved me in ways I can’t really discuss on the internet, so thank you for loving me unconditionally, and teaching me a thing or two about patience, and about understanding phenomenons that may be physically tiny but in reality, are so much bigger than us.
I love you beyond measure, I hope you always know that this is your world and I am simply living in it.
Happy Birthday, Nala!
All my love,
Mommy
PS. You’re the best $90 I’ve ever invested
