OUR GIRL | NELLIE BELLY

Nellie is our puppy child. She'll be three in July, but something about her tells me she'll always have a little bit of puppy left in her. Maybe it's the sweet glimmer in her eye. Or the way she cocks her head at you when you say her name.  Her insatiable need for lovings. Her smile.

More likely it's her stubborn unwillingness to let go of bad habits no matter how hard we try to break them. Her need to destroy every stuffed toy she encounters. Her distrust of helmets. Her boundless energy. Etc, etc.

I choose to focus on the good however; especially when she's moody and others only see the bad. Our recent move was particularly hard on her, and I've never felt so ferociously protective and so unconditionally in love with this wild thing. I'm so glad she'll always be our baby. She's our girl. Nellie belly. - b.