Kuma Turns ONE!

I would be remiss not to mention that Christmas was Kuma's birthday! Of course we did not get him until February 18th when he was 8 weeks old and could be away from mama but he was born on Christmas. Happy first birthday Kuma. You have been a blessed addition to our family!

Our first picture of him at 5-6 weeks when we picked him out:

At 8 weeks when he came home with us:

We knew we had a water dog from early on but our trip to Whitewater in April when he was 4 months old sealed the deal:

At the river in July, at 7 months:


And now at 1 year:


Kuma may have grown a lot in the last year, but he is still a puppy and will be probably for the next year. Case in point: Santa left him a present in his stocking, which he left alone but I had left out a few gifts ON TOP of his kennel that the kids had picked out for him as well as two toy mice, one for each of the kitties. On Christmas morning we found all the toys on top of the kennel missing. He had taken them in the middle of the night and brought them in Jake's room to play with them, including both the mice for the cats, which did not survive Kuma's aggressive chewing. He has gone through a dog rope, rips anything stuffed to shreds in minutes in order to find the squeaker and eats the felt off all the tennis balls. I have tried the Kong toys and ones specifically marked for "strong chewers" but have yet to find something he both likes and can last past a few days.

But that was not my point. My point was that he is a great dog - smart, loyal and loving and as I mentioned the perfect addition to our family. The last year has been great and I look forward to many, many more with Kuma by our side.