I have had 2 dogs for many years now. I started with one Golden Retriever (named Alex), but when he was around 6, a friend posted a picture of some puppies she was fostering. And I just had to meet them. So I went by her place and out in the back yard was a fenced off play-area with the 2 cutest German Shepard-like puppies I had ever seen. She told me that the shelter she was fostering for had a big box of puppies dropped off recently that were found along the side of the road in around Stockton, CA. So the next morning I called the shelter and made plans to visit later that day. I still had no plans on adopting one - I just wanted to go meet them. When I got there I found 11-12 puppies, all from the same litter, all who were just as cute as could be. I spent around 3 hours there, going into different rooms, sitting on the floor and playing with each puppy. One had one blue eye, so I didn't think they were purebred GSDs. But after my time there, there was one puppy who just stole my heart. His name at the time was Topeka and he was just the sweetest little ball of fur I had ever seen. By the end of the day I had signed the paperwork and agreed to adopt him. His new name is Dakota, and he's grown up to be the most amazing dog that's every existed (in my mind at least). Someone who adopted one of his siblings had a DNA test done and it came back reporting that they were all 50% German Shepard, with 4 or 5 other breeds mixed in. I used to think he looked 100% German Shepard, but I've since seen so many GSDs that are mostly brown with some black, and many (if not most) have farily long hair. Dakota is pure black and grey with cream-colored legs/paws and a small area of brown around the back of his ears.

Anyway, about 4 years later, Alex got very sick and died, which was heartbreaking (as you might imagine). I've since adopted a purebred Golden Retriever (name Jesse) who's now 2. He's amazing and I love him to death, but there's just something about Dakota that makes him stand-out and we have a very special bond. I hate to say this, but if Jesse died, I could go get another Golden, who would be different for sure, but would have all of the traits of a typical Golden. Dakota is different. He's one-of-a-kind (actually there are 10 more just like him (his siblings), but you know what I mean)! There is no replacing a dog who is 50% GSD mixed with 4 other breeds. He's super-smart, and while he's really tall (weighing in at around 75 pounds and around 27 inches at the shoulder) and kind of scary looking, he's just "the sweetest soul I've every known". I have a hard time imagining him hurting anything, whether that's another dog, a cat, a bunny or a person.

So I've been thinking a lot lately about how dogs live on different time-scales than humans. He's 5 now, so I've probably only got around 5 more years with him. "If I Could Just Stop Time" is basically a love song written to my sweet Dakota.

Just a few months ago I had the picture next to this post tattooed onto most of my right forearm and I also had one of his paws tattooed on the back of my right hand.