I know exactly what I was doing on February 25th, 1994. It was Koal’s first birthday and I was baking the first of many cakes for him.

The tradition was an uniced confetti cake. Icing was messy and made for sticky fur. You see Koal was a dog.

But Koal was much more than a dog. My kids referred to him as their baby brother. I called him mommy’s little sweetie. And we were all quite certain that Koal never realized he was a dog.

He was quite young when he declared himself a vegetarian. This resulted in numerous road trips to Grand Forks and Fargo to find vegetarian dog food. Amazon didn’t exist back then. I must admit we all enjoyed those trips down to the USA.

Koal was exceptionally intelligent and the kids delighted in teaching him new tricks. They had him running around furniture and rooms as well as jumping through hula hoops.

While my kids were never happy being carried around in snugglies when they were babies, Koal was quite content to be carried around in this way. I took him shopping and even to doctor appointments.

He also loved car rides. He sat in the front passenger seat next to his mommy. In the summer his nose was glued to the air conditioning vent.

When the kids moved out he really missed them. I’d tell him that his brother or sister was coming over and he would plant himself in front of the living room window watching for them.

The years went by and we were blessed with his presence in our lives until December 7th, 2008. He always slept in bed with me and that morning I was startled awake by Koal having a seizure. Hours later, I lovingly held him in my arms when the vet gave him the injection that would bring him peace.

We miss you and love you Koal and you are always in our hearts.

Happy Birthday in Heaven!