As some of you know, I volunteered at the humane society for my county. In the year 2011, about this time, my life changed due to a little black and brown dog.

You may know him as Boomer. I talk about him way more than I should.

The day that I got him was an emotional roller coaster.

My aunt called and asked if I wanted to go to the humane society. I said yes, of course, because that place is my fave and I wanted to see Boomer. So we took off. My mom wasn't home because she had to go somewhere to do something. Vague, huh?

First thing that wasn't good was that my aunt took a wrong turn. Down an unknown country road. When we were supposed to be at the humane society at 5 o'clock, because that's closing time. We ended up getting there at 5:12, which was okay because Connie, the director, and a few other volunteers were still there.

My aunt and I walked into the back of the building, where all the dogs were. I went straight over to Boomer, let him out, and started crying. On his cage was a little piece of paper that said 'On hold.' That meant he was being adopted. Great. That meant he wasn't coming home with me. Not great. Sorry to sound selfish but I was in love with this dog, he was always the one who would come to me first, gave me all his attention, and took it from me, too.

Anyway, I picked Boomer up as he was attacking my face. My aunt noticed I was crying and asked me what was wrong. I could only turn and point at his cage. She tried to comfort me, and there was no way.

Then I turned around and saw my mother walking up to me, and it all made sense. "This is my dog." I'm usually great at making up scenarios and situations, but I never even thought that until I saw my mom. He was my Christmas present for that year. My mom hugged me and my wriggling puppy, and I got to choose his leash, blanket and toy.

I'm really only telling this because it was my Christmas miracle, and his birthday was the 16th. He turned NINE this year. Bam.

When I wrote this back in 2012, I didn’t realize how important Boomer would become to me. When nobody else was there, Boomer was. He is a true friend. He’s brought me back from the point of no return when it came to my depression. He is the textbook definition of a “good boy” and I love him with all my heart.

So.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOOMER!!!
And to all of you...

Happy Holidays from me and the boy!