You're Three, Colonel William van Winkle!

Yes, I am one of those people who celebrates pet birthdays and today just happens to be William's third birthday! I guess in dog years that means that he's 21 so perhaps we should take him out to a bar? In honor of his birthday, I put together some of my favorite pictures of him and compiled a list of seven interesting facts about my favorite English Springer Spaniel, William.

1. William was born in Bardstown, Kentucky, which is near Louisville and his full name is Colonel William van Winkle the Bard of Bardstown. It's a mouthful. I am not really sure how much Bourbon my husband and I had before coming up with this name, but we thought it was funny. We had to pay extra to have it put on his AKC certification because it exceeded the letter limit. Also, because the long name is just too long, his name tag simply reads "Colonel William van Winkle." If William ever runs away we are waiting for the phone call to begins with, "We found the Colonel!"

2. William loves lobsters. Maybe a little too much. His first stuffed animal toys were all lobsters. The "love" affair has continued ever since.

3. William is really good at getting into all sorts of trouble, but when he does, you just have to forgive him. He is really, really proficient at making a great sad face as evident by the photos below.

In the picture below William interrupted a croquet tournament by stealing the ball and using it as his personal chew toy, which is just further proof of the mischief he is capable of.

4. William's great grandfather won best in show at Westminster. I think the puppy pictures below show off his profile and breeding nicely. We try not to mention his champion lineage too much though, to prevent him from getting a big head. Well, he already sort of has a big head so we don't want it to get any bigger!

 

5. William loves to run. Because he is a hunting dog he likes to chase after birds, although most of the time he chases after butterflies, which I personally think are his favorite. (My husband doesn't like me to mention this because it doesn't sound "manly" but I don't judge!)

6. Red is William's favorite color, although he is color blind, so how does he really know? Well, I think against his black and white coloring, a pop of red is always a great accessory, just like the bandanna shown below.

7. Speaking of great fashion sense, my last interesting tidbit about William is that he is very much like me. It's funny how dogs all have their individual personalities, just like people. William is sometimes messy, a little crazy, and carefree, just like yours truly. Plus, I secretly think he really likes fashion, as he always does a little happy dance when he likes my outfit!

Well, that concludes my birthday tribute post to William. I hope you learned a little bit about my furry four legged friend and why he is so special to me. As I wrote in a previous post, a dog really is a girl's best friend!