Hi Grandpa:
I Spirit, will tell you a story for your birthday. I left my home town of Sitka right after my first – and worst – birthday. It was the worst birthday even though I eventually got a new car (almost a week late). There is my baby picture with my 
litter mates. I am an Alaska Wild Winter White retriever. You may not be able to tell, but I am the rowdiest of this group. Most of my brothers and sisters are working dogs – either therapy/guide for the disabled, or search and rescue. My job is to be a bundle of fun. Since I left Sitka two years ago I now wander the trails, lakes and streams of the north central Cascades. Humans pet and hug me and experience a surge in oxytocin, which makes them happy and eases their stress.
I was born in October 2018. One of my best Sitka friends 
was Artemis the mini-Aussie, who is crew on the F/V Apollo. We had some times, especially in the snow.
I worked for a commercial fishing advocacy group as my first fishing job. My other best friend was Scout, a halibut fisherpuppy on the F/V Cherokee. I’m about to step on her head. And also there 
was our deck boss, Rascal. I never went to the bathroom inside, even as a little girl. Except for every time Rascal came to the office, I peed – just a little bit – on the floor.
My first year in Sitka was incredible. At four months old, I started an after school day care play care program, supervising elementary school children so that working parents could squeeze in a few more hours. I was also a bank account manager. Part of my job was to go behind the counter and hang with the girls in the bank. Then there are all the adventures – swimming and hiking with my friends. I got to go to “B Float” and hang out on the dock with the fishermen.
The hardest thing my first year was my big sis Greta was really
sick. There was one good thing about that and that was that we got to go to Mcdonalds almost every day because Greta would only eat cheeseburgers and king salmon hot off the grill. When Greta left us Papa had to go fishing the next day and he said he cried all the way to the fishing grounds.
Anyway, about my horrible first birthday. At some point after the 2019 fishing season, something was up. I am Spirit, and I don’t do confinement. There was a kennel in my house, and mama and papa kept trying to put me in it. They were so busy they didn’t even have a proper birthday party for me. Plus, I was in my first heat. There was a “going away” party, and people were joking about me hooking up in a plane with a male dog. Somebody said I could become a member of the “Mile High Club.” I don’t know what that is but everybody except my papa thought it was really funny.
So here I am, in heat and in a kennel and on an “airplane” – in the cargo, away from people. It was the worst experience of my life. And no, I did not hook up with any boys there. A north wind chased us out of Alaska and the plane shook the whole time, with lots of turbulence. Can you imagine living in Sitka your whole life and emerging from that into a big scary building called “SeaTac?” After a less scary but equally bizarre trip on a thing called a “freeway” we arrived at my Auntie Michelle’s house in Everett, Washington.
She had something I’d never seen before – a furry thing that was not a dog. Papa told me it was a called a “cat” and 
that people actually try to talk to them. We both got a laugh out of this, first time all day. This also was the first time I’d spent the night away from my Sitka house. I didn’t sleep, and Papa didn’t either. I barked at the door all night, tricking Papa who thought I needed to pee. But all I would do is play a new fun game called “chase the kitty.”
So at ten the next morning, Papa grabbed me, and Auntie Michelle’s dog Sandy, and we went to the Subaru store for my birthday present. Papa’s newest car ever was about twenty years old when he got it. The Subaru people were nice, and even had little stuffed Subarus that were dog toys. Papa told the Subaru people that he needed to get me a new Subaru for my birthday and we needed to leave western Washington right now because of leash laws. By noon, we were headed for mountains, destined for my new home called Ponderosa. I made new friends immediately, including a boy dog who was so smitten with me he would be laying outside our door in the freezing snow at five in the morning. We have pretty much stayed in the mountains
ever since I got my birthday car. Papa avoids western Washington because the government makes all animals be on a leash. And they actually make people go shopping without their dogs. I think that is weird because Papa’s always well behaved when he’s with me.
My birthdays since have been much better with outdoor barbecue parties with my dog and people friends. We always have one of Papa’s king salmon for my birthday. Also my birthday happens during the peak of swimming season. So I get to go to either my river – the Columbia River – or my 
lake, Lake Wenatchee. Animals are supposed to be on leash there too, but by October there are not very many people from the cities around, so I can safely untether Papa while I swim. If nobody sees it, it didn’t happen. That’s how I see it. This year I got to go birthday shopping in the big city of Wenatchee. I got a football and a new red rubber ball that holds treats – much better than a Subaru.
Then one of the coolest things about my birthday is it means it won’t be long until it snows. 
I hope you get some snow for your birthday. Maybe Grandma will take you out for a walk and throw snowballs for you at the park.
To view previously published SPIRITLIFTERS VI – click here
I think this is my favorite of your blogs and I don’t like dogs……but I think I might like Spirit
Olivia says she knows Spirit’s Grandpa and hopes he got to run around the yard with his friends on his Birthday.
Thanks. For sharing your story. It sounds like you take pretty good care of your papa. And I agree balls with treats are much much better than Subarus. Happy New Year