DogAge

Happy birthday Kiki!!!

Today is Kiki's 9th birthday. It's easy to remember Kiki's birthday because it is 9/29/1999 and she is the same age as my nephew, Nick. I know it's a little odd to celebrate a dog birthday, but since I don't have kids, my dogs are the next closest thing. My best childhood friend, Annalisa Paul, once celebrated her guide dog's birthday with a party (we were 19, so please give us a break)

Nike was born on 9/27/2002, and so I celebrated their birthdays on the same weekend this year. For their birthdays, Nike got a running leash and Kiki got a new bed. They both got special meals and big bones to chew on. Also, today we went to the Culver City Bone Yard to play. Kiki and Nike like to see the other dogs, but aren't much for playing with anyone other than themselves. And even with the 2-mile run each way, we all still had fun.

So we know Kiki is 9 in human years, but how old is that really? A common calculation in 7 years for every human year: 7 X 9=63. A closer investiation into the subject, and we find that dogs age more quickly when they are younger, and then gradually stabilize. This new information shows Kiki to be 57. But is that accurate? She doesn't seem that old! Our first Christmas as a couple, Steven gave me an amazing present: This is a book about how to keep your dog living healthfully for as long as possible. There is also a questionaire to test how old your dog really is. I re-took the test on line today and here are the results:

"Kiki's DogAge is 42.1!

That's 15.7 years younger than the average DogAge for Kiki's breed. DogAge is the biological age of your dog, measured in people years. Your dog is lucky to have such a good caretaker.

Nike's DogAge is 27.5!

That's 11.1 years younger than the average DogAge for Nike's breed."

I'm glad to hear that my dogs are still young (at least young at heart). The Samoyed lifespan is 12-15 years, which gives Kiki possibly only 3 more left. They grow up so fast. I remember when Nike was a puppy and would fight and play with all his brothers and sisters (He is second from the right). To think that he is nearly a senior canine citizen!

Here's to another 9 years for all of us! Happy birthday Kiki and Nike!!!