Herd in the 'hood: my own version of a modern family: Reflecting on the years gone by... Two, in fact.

Happy St. Jean Baptiste Day to all Franco-Canadians!

Happy Anniversary to my sister and brother-in-law, who today celebrate 13 years of marriage.

But most of all, Happy Birthday to the F-Bomb!!!!

That's right - today is Mr. Fergus' birthday! His third birthday, in fact.

If you are like me, you grew up believing that 1 dog year = 7 human years. Which would make Fergus 21 years old - legal in all 50 states (if there was such a thing as a doggie bar). But in fact, thanks to the magic that is Dr. Google, I've discovered that this formula is overly simple and not-at-all accurate. Evidently, according to people who know dogs, the ratio of dog-to-human-years is much higher at the beginning of life, decreasing with age. Fergus, therefore, is closer to 28 years old. See:

Canine Age	Human Age
2 Months	14 Months
6 Months	5 Years
8 Months	9 Years
1 Year	15 Years
2 Years	24 Years
3 Years	28 Years
4 Years	32 Years
5 Years	37 Years
6 Years	42 Years
7 Years	47 Years
8 Years	52 Years
9 Years	57 Years
10 Years	62 Years
11 Years	67 Years
12 Years	72 Years
13 Years	77 Years
14 Years	82 Years

*Credit: www.dogyears.com

Either way, my little boy is all grown up.

Sniff Sniff...

Everybody keeps telling me that very soon, Fergus will start to calm down. "Once he's 3," they say, "he won't have all of that crazy energy!" Well, I don't know what "they" are thinking, but he certainly shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. I suspect that he'll keep us hopping until he's 14 or so (82 for those of you counting in human years). Yup... he'll be the Jack LaLanne of the canine world.

At any rate, I'm a crazy enough dog person to write a blog about my dog, but I'm not crazy enough to throw him a party and buy him a doggie birthday cake or make him wear a birthday hat so I can take pictures. But I did wish him happy birthday when we woke up. And I did take him this morning to his favourite spot in the whole world - the Arboretum - for a run and a swim. And I did give him a peanut butter stuffed kong when I left the house. And once it's thawed out a little, I will give him a bone to chew on for the evening. So I guess we are sort of celebrating a little.

I also can't help but wonder where the heck the time has gone! Has it really been over two years since he came to live with us?

Yes. I suppose it has...

And what a fun time it has been. This past year has been no exception. Whether continuing on with old traditions or discovering new adventures, we've enjoyed another year of Mr. F's company.

So Happy birthday, Mr. Fergus. Here's to many more years to come!