Pups through the years!

I love going through old photo albums when I’m home. (Yup, my take-photos-of-everything tendency totally comes from my mom, so we have tons of family photos.) I got to take a trip down memory lane with all of our amazing dogs!

My parents had these pups when I was born! Abby was a little indifferent to the infant alien presented to her, and Leonard was my protector. It could be said that Abby introduced my parents to each other. My mom got her as a puppy from my dad’s dog’s litter.

We got Sunny at a year old, a show dog school drop out. Literally, she was on track to be a show dog but they found her to be too spirited. Pfsssshhh… After hiding under the deck for the first three days, we got to teach her the ropes of being a mountain dog! My dad even taught her to swim. Though she would forever prance along the curb on our neighborhood walks as though in a balance beam competition…

I was too sick to go pick up our puppy Lacey when I was 4. I remember looking out of our kitchen window when my dad got home from picking her up to see him heft a white fluff ball from the back of the truck. As he walked to the house, a little head turned to face me and all I could see in the cloud of white was a little black nose and two little black eyes. Whenever we went hiking at our cabin, she loved to slide down the muddy hill on her belly. People forever thought she was a puppy, even at 11 years old, due to her huge paws that she never grew in to and her puppy attitude!

Tori was one of the cutest little puppies! We got her at 8 weeks old, and was little enough for me to carry around on one forearm like a football. At one year old she had hip dysplasia surgery on one hip, which left her with a little tilt of her hips. She has a little nubbin of a tail that wags when she’s amused, but when she is really excited her whole butt wiggles!

We got Sydney at 6 months old. She was named Satin and came with a pink collar. We immediately changed it and decided on Sydney after reading a blurb in the paper on one of our favorite shows, Alias. She had a strip of curls that ran the way down her back, and a tail that always expressed herself and from which we had to hide our drinks on cocktail tables. We called her the “Big Lick” because she licked anything and everything!

One thing I’m always sad about leaving after a visit home with my family is having to say goodbye to my pups. I’d love to have a dog myself, but it just isn’t the right time. I’m so lucky to have friends in Portland with amazing dogs that I get to snuggle and play with!

I’m so lucky that one of my closest friends and sweat buddy Jamie has such a rad dog! Abbie is one of the most active and snuggly dogs I’ve ever met! She’s so fast and tireless on the trails or when a ball is present, but is the first to dive into a fuzzy blanket for a snuggle sesh.

I got to meet this adorable nugget on day 1 that my friend got him at 8 weeks old. Watching him morph from a teddy bear into a muppet has been one of the highlights of the year! I think the love is totally mutual…

I love having this huge crew of amazing dogs surrounding me!

Needless to say, I’m definitely a dog person! A cute pup somewhere nearby? I’m there, rolling around on the ground getting bathed in puppy kisses, and talking in a puppy voice that won’t abate after walking away. I think it’s fair to say that my favorite thing about having a dog is having a partner in crime. From snuggling while watching a movie…

to hitting the trails in the woods…

… having a pup by your side always makes it better!

Wanna join in on the amazing week of adorable puppies?! Every day this week, Fit Approach is posting two prompts on Instagram. Choose one or both, post a pic, and tag all the tags: #sweatpink #WhistleFit @FitApproach @whistlelabs

You can also get $30 off a Whistle device by using the code WHISTLEFIT at checkout!