In AKC time, Sasha is seven years old today! We chose July 4th for her “official” birthday in declaration of her independence from the old and in celebration of her new life. She’s now formally recognized by the AKC as Ozark Summer Highlands Sasha.

For those new to the story, here’s a quick recap of how her AKC name came to be:

We chose Ozark for our locale and Highlands for her heritage; we’re actually in the Ozark Highlands, so it’s a double play on that last word. We included Summer because she has a warm, sunny spirit. And I wanted her call name included because she came to us with that, so including Sasha gave us a bridge between her past and present.

This sweet pup wakes up happy, every single day. She’s become a big fan of the post-breakfast ritual, when she enjoys a scavenger hunt for treats before wandering out to the garden with her best friend, Buddy The Wonder Cat.

Between trips to the park (with a brief bark-fest along the way, of course) and herding me through my own exercise sessions, Sasha has proven herself a champion at napping while I’m working in the office. Following dinner it’s more treats (dental chews, actually, but don’t tell her that) and then it’s time for evening patrol of the yard. This past week, she’s discovered lightning bugs and has us laughing at her excitement as she leaps and jumps in pursuit.

Here’s to another year of laughter and love with our sweet Sheltie!