Wally turned 4

Somehow, I blinked and time turned and churned and suddenly, my puppy is now a whole dog. Wally turned 4 years old on April 13. Our resident silly, goofy, giant goldendoodle—the light of our lives, my twin flame, the leggiest boy—has been on earth for 4 wild years.

To celebrate his big day, we got Wally some doggy ice cream from local Milwaukee shop Salty Paws to celebrate his birthday (plus a range of bones and treats for him to enjoy). It was a ton of fun, especially seeing his tangible, infectious joy.

Here’s a little update on Wally. (My last Wally pup-date was on his second birthday, so this is definitely overdue!)

About Wally

If you follow me on Instagram, you likely know Wally as the center of my universe. He’s my sidekick—my work-from-home buddy and often micromanager (he loves to loom and gaze at my work, monitoring my progress).

He is (probably) 75 pounds, has giant legs, and grows a crop of curly, floofy, mostly-white hair, with tufts of apricot. He often plasters his mouth into a ridiculous goofy grin, though he’s usually expressive otherwise, too. It’s not hard to get a good read on him, lol.

Wally is damn cute. Impossibly cute. My camera roll is a testament to that—he’s the star of the show, for sure.

Every once in a while, Wally’s mane will grow unruly and our two-person attempts to comb him regularly prove futile. Each visit to the groomer is a bit of a gamble. There have been a few unfortunate shaves (less since moving to Milwaukee, interestingly), but he has a proven resilience—in these situations, shining with his amazing personality. Lol.

Wally is (mostly) a cuddly bug. He’s unnaturally clingy for an animal; snuggling is his favorite pastime, and he will make any lap accommodate his size. He’s a couch and bed connoisseur, though luckily he also loves his crate for nighttime. Wally is attention motivated and couldn’t care less about food. Unsurprisingly, this has made training a little bit of a challenge, lol.

If you haven’t guessed, Wally is also a little naughty. Not in the sense of chewing or digging (though, his size has given us several very expensive Learning Opportunities about what can and can Not be left on the kitchen counter over the years). If anything, he’s partial to the occasional sock (more the game of chase), an errant tissue here and there, and mostly to causing a ruckus when company is over.

Mostly, he lacks personal space boundaries. Though we got him prior to the world shutting down, Wally was still a pandemic puppy. He’s excitable around people (both new and familiar, yikes) and still jumps (problematic, we know, due to his size), though when he calms down he is just the best and biggest lover pup. Because of this, he’s not a brewery dog, though he loves going for walks and car rides, and playing at his Poppi and Gigi’s house in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Wally is smart and hilarious (I think he’s a natural-born comedian). He’s playful and too, too cute. He’s got a giant floofy body and somehow, a personality that’s even bigger. I love him so, so, so much. Chad and I can’t believe he’s 4, but also can’t believe we ever lived a life without him.

So glad to live in a world with Wally in it. 🙂 🖤

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