Ebon was born seven years ago today. He has been my loyal dog for six years and seven months of that, as I brought him home on his five month birthday. My how time flies! Here's a little photo diary of the past few years. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of him from before five months of age. However, I still remember the tiny creature he was when I first met him at two weeks old. It's amazing how much he has changed. It's been quite an adventure, and I hope to have at least another seven years ahead with my wonderful fella.
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| Ebon at five months old, the day I brought him home. |
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| Ten months old. One of my favorite pictures of him. |
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| Twenty months old, along with his mother. Here she's about the age he is now. She's still going strong! |
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| Three years old, shortly before he began going gray. |
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| On his fifth birthday, politely begging for his birthday treat. |
For his birthday, Ebon also got to have fun and eat good things. We went back to my campus and did a large circuit, which took about two hours. He had a blast, even taking a little dip in the pond. There actually aren't any leash rules on certain parts of campus, so I also spent a little time working with Ebon's off leash manners. Mostly this consisted of practicing recall near distractions, such as a busy road (with a fence between us and the road). He's very good at keeping to a loose heel while off lead, staying within ten feet of me in whatever direction while we walk around.
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| By the pond right at the beginning of the walk. It was a beautiful day. Notice the difference in the pond from before. It's been warm, so the duckweed has been flourishing. |
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| By the ditch. The path ahead and to the right leads behind the campus greenhouse. |
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| If viewed as a square with the pond as the first corner, this baseball field is at the second corner. |
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| Feet on the campus trail. Not much else to say. |
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| At the oldest of the three fountains on campus. This is about halfway along the last side of the square. |
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| Back at the pond right before leaving, I took off the vest and let him off lead to see if he wanted to take a little swim. I think the water was a bit cold because he only waded. |
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| The ingredients. |
As for the food, Ebon got a tooble (smoked beef trachea) as a snack and with his dinner he got a mixture of banana, peanut butter, and cream cheese added to his kibble, plus some freeze dried liver. I have actually gone to the lengths to bake him a cake before (using a doggie cook book), but this time I decided to go the simple route and mix him up something with a touch of sweetness that I knew he would like. By the way, two bananas, one small tub of cream cheese and a cup of peanut butter makes plenty for a dog and a few friends, or enough for several treats if you really want to spoil him or her. I did taste it, as I have a tendency to do with anything I hand make, and it just tastes like sweet peanut butter.
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| The drooling face of anticipation. |
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| Ebon's birthday "cake." He licked every last morsel out of the bowl. He will be getting more tomorrow. |
