Bittersweet Birthday

I can't even believe it, but today is the 10th birthday of our dear little boy Celtic Bird Luce. The little man and his 9 brothers and sisters were born 10 years ago today, to a little Beagle named Irene, in a beautiful home outside Vinland, Kansas. His father was originally thought to be the tiny Cocker Spaniel who also lived at his birthplace, but after a few months it was clear that he and his brother Steeler were not Cocker mixes. Based on their size and the appearance of one of their brothers, we guessed that Irene was fooling around with some sort of German Shepherd mix. :)

Since Chad and I were both gone for the evening, we didn't get to do anything very special for Celtic's birthday, but at lunch I gave him a couple of tiny bites of some awesome BBQ pork ribs that our neighbors brought us last night. That special treat will have to suffice until we can go out and get him a real present!

Celtic is one of the most loving, nurturing and sensitive little dogs you'll ever meet, and we are very thankful that he's part of our family. We're also so thankful for his good health, and yet we can't help but be somewhat saddened today as Celtic celebrates his birthday without his sweet brother Steeler. We all miss Steeler very much and still feel the pain of his untimely death last September. We hope that he's having a wonderful birthday celebration with all of his doggie friends in heaven.