My love,

You are turning 11-years-old this year.

My heart drops to my stomach when I think about that.

Every time I look at your birth certificate I start to cry. I remember the very first time I held you in my arms. You had the softest fur and the tiniest little paws. You were smaller then most labs and you didn't bark. I remember thinking, how anyone could have given you away? You were almost a year old and you were terrified of being away from me. You would just follow me around with those big brown eyes begging for love.

You came into my life by chance. By a miracle. As if someone knew. I sure didn't, did you?  

Did you know how much pain I was in?

I remember that night as if it were yesterday. You came into the room at the exact moment I needed you the most. You looked at me with those big brown eyes and my heart felt something I had never ever experienced. I knew in that instant that I could handle anything. I had never been looked at the way you looked at me. You looked at me like I was the greatest person in the world. I felt true love.

I have spent every single day of these last 11 years trying to be the person that you saw when you looked at me. Trying to show you that I could be that great person. I will spend every day thanking you for what you did for me. I want you to know exactly how much love I felt when you came into my life.

I will never love anyone as much as I love you.

I am the luckiest person alive to call you my dog.

With all my heart,

Your mom