His first adventure was in early December 2003 when he flew from SoCal to Kitty Hawk, NC in a small plane with his Dad to celebrate the Anniversary of Flight. He was fashionably decked out in his puppy flight jacket and scarf. He was quite sick from his surgery and Dad had to haul homemade food to help in Mikey's recovery. Mom even met them there to cook up a new batch. Along the way they got stuck in a blizzard so they drove to MN to meet Grandma and Aunt Ruth and played in snow for the first time. In Kitty Hawk he got to put his toes in the Atlantic Ocean, met Patty Wagstaff (world famous aerobatic pilot), and got a really bad case of fleas!

His first Christmas was spent in Sedona, AZ where he met his Grandparents for the first time. When we arrived back home in SoCal we were finally able to pick up Hope, his new sister we adopted the same day we found Mikey but who was too sick to come home with us. They hit it off from the get go and were inseparable for almost 14 years.

For awhile we spent summers in Colorado. The dogs loved that house because it was surrounded by big trees with so many squirrels -- they would spend hours sitting at the bottom of the trees just staring up. Colorado has the best off leas dog park in the whole country! It is 500 acres of doggy heaven with lakes, rivers, open fields and trees. The dogs would start to go wild about a mile away and we would open the door and they were streaks of brown and black running away from us. We would eventually catch up to them by the river or lake where they would chase ducks down the river -- eventually Mikey blew his knees out and had to have knee surgery. After his month long recovery he did not slow down -- he would still follow his sister anywhere she went.

He loved his daily walks and runs. For many years it was 5k a day with Daddy. We could tell the end was nearing as his walks started to decrease and then one day he just no longer wanted to go.

His adventures continued. We took many RV trips including trips to Yosemite, the Reno Air Races, Deadwood, SD, the beaches of CA. He visited at least 20 states, dipped his toes in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Sea of Cortez, and multiple lakes and rivers around the country. He loved the water but would never go into the water deeper than chest level. He lived on a sail boat in the Sea of Cortez for a time -- not his favorite. He preferred the little house in Mexico.

He was so funny about new surfaces. He did not like hardwood floors!! He would crouch down, spread his paws wide and walk very, very carefully. Once up on the sofa, he would cry because he was afraid to get down. We invested heavily in carpet runners... Any new smooth surface he would encounter would take a lot of encouragement to try.

He loved his squishy dog cushions. Any unfamiliar location would feel like home if his favorite squishy traveled with him. He loved fluffy toys -- but his favorite part was chewing off the labels. Once that deed was done he would go for any little nubby on the toy. Within minutes he would be surrounded by a sea of fluffy innards.

Mikey loved to sing! His favorite musician was John Denver and would often sing along. The Family Howl was one of his favorite traditions when the whole family would sing together. And of course sirens caused a great deal of singing. In his last morning with us we had one final Family Howl.

His favorite greeting was to get really close to your face and sniff all around. Every once in a while he would give the tiniest kiss on the tip of your nose. He loved to lean against people and get lots of love. He would often sleep on the sofa next to his mom with his head resting on a skein of yarn while she knit.

He lived a full life and gave and received so much love. We miss you Mikey. See you at the Bridge.