Happy 1st Birthday, Levi
Hi everyone! So today is a very exciting day, Levi is now officially a one year old! While I don’t know his exact birthday, this was the date the shelter gave me on his paperwork. We of course celebrated all week though, just to make sure it was extra special.
It’s crazy to me to think that he’s been in my life for six months already. When I think back to the puppy I adopted, Levi has grown so much both physically and mentally. For one, he’s at least two inches taller than he was when I adopted him. On his shelter profile he was listed as 16 lbs and as of last week he’s 26 lbs. When I first got him, he was already lanky. I didn’t think he could get lankier but I was clearly wrong.
He also didn’t really have a personality when I first got him. He was a sweet little puppy with a lot of trauma and not a lot of knowledge of the real world. Now, he has his own opinions, feelings, and has no problem being sassy to the point where he will blatantly ignore things. A prime example of his personality happened when Levi and I were in Florida with my mom. Levi was with my mom and her dogs as they walked into the house while I was on the opposite end walking inside. He saw me walk away and my mom called him to come in. My mom told me that he looked at her, acknowledging what she said, and then ran off to find me. It was kind of funny really, he absolutely adores my mom but she said she could tell he was like “you’re not my person so I don’t really care what you have to say”.
Levi has also learned so much since then. He now has a plethora of trick under his belt, including sit, down, place, wait, high five, touch, up, off, heel, crate, get your toy, hug, and snuggle. It’s especially fun to me because he learned hug and snuggle on his own. We always knew he was smart but to think he’s been able to pick up tricks on his own is pretty awesome.
Honestly, it’s been such a fun whirlwind to have Levi. I’m so excited that we have so many more years to come and a lot more adventures. The only reason I say his birthday is a little bittersweet is because I feel like I’m saying goodbye to the little puppy I met six months ago. He’s now a fully grown dog who is still an adolescent I suppose, but he’s not the wide eyed and innocent little puppy anymore.
One other thing I am very happy about though is as of February 1st, Levi will have officially spent half of his life with me. This is an important milestone because his first six months of life weren’t very positive. He was an owner surrender and it has become very clear to everyone that Levi was treated poorly and most likely abused by his previous owner. He has more general anxiety with men and while he’s made a lot of progress, even going so far to bond with my dad and my brothers, I’m hopeful that with time and continued experiences he can grow out of that fear and learn that people, especially men, aren’t so scary.
For Levi’s 1st birthday celebration, I absolutely bought him a birthday hat and bandana, as you can see in the photos. He only wore the hat for the photos but has been wearing the bandana on and off since this past weekend. He has also gotten extra spoiled with treats and toys but I’ve made sure not to overindulge him food wise, don’t worry. Even though his birthday according to his records is today, we’ll continue to celebrate it into the weekend!
