My Birthday Secrets

Guess who's eating birthday cake today? ME! That's right, I'm turning 7!

When I was just a tiny pup, I had no idea what an amazing life was waiting for me—all the belly rubs, tasty treats, and exciting adventures that would fill my days.

And even though I'm seven today, my puppy dog eyes work as well as ever. I've scored lots of extra treats and seen so much goodness all these years with my Mama who's the most pawsome person in the whole wide world. She's taught me everything about love and kindness, snuggles and cuddles, enjoying adventures, and how to be the best pup I can be!

Since it's my big day today, I know Mama has surprises and treats coming my way. I've decided I'll behave like I'm eight (not seven!) when she's trying to take her 100th photo today. But when she brings out my cake, I'm turning back the clock, and I'm going to be as excited as when I got a cake for the very first time, even though I'm seven today. As I celebrate turning seven today, I want to share my three-part secret to a tail-wagging life: liveloveplay. It's stayed the same from year one to year seven. I know it will stay the same from today until forever—through the good and the bad, the laughs and the tears, the treats, and the kibble—so that your life is super happy and not filled with regret.

LIVE I'm a very lucky puppy! Maybe the luckiest puppy in the whole world. I LIVE a tail-wagging life that's fun and exciting, and it feels like it matters. It feels paw-sitively extraordinary in every way. But just like I know I'll eat cake today, I know that everything I've done or have in life, whether big or small, easy or hard, is because of my Mama, who always makes sure I'm growing and learning so I LIVE my life every day and be the best pup I can be. My Mama has helped me see some things that I would never have seen on my own or believed even possible - like learning lots of words and passing big tests to become a Therapy Dog and a Security Dog. And learning to use a human keyboard that was never designed for my big floofy paw, but I need to know to write Toffy's Dog Blog. These were all so hard to do - and even though I had a brilliant plan in my head and knew what I'd have if I followed my path - sometimes I just stopped - too tired and frustrated to want to keep going and one time I even gave up. That's when I pulled out my laptop and found the new season of my favorite show, Bluey, to binge-watch and let some other dogs be a Therapy Dog, a Security Dog, or even a dog blogger.

But I quickly felt sad and empty, like my tail stopped wagging completely and I didn't matter and had nothing to offer when I wasn't pursuing what's important to me. And this is why I want to share my first secret with you: if you want to experience the life of your dreams and make it the best it can be—waking up excited for the day ahead (unless it's super early or icy cold)—and feeling extra grateful and without regret when you curl up in your bed to sleep, you must find what you LOVE above everything else and ignore what anyone says if it's going to help you. They don't know how big the dream in your heart is or how smart the plan in your head actually is.

This is the core of my Toffy pawlosophy: doing something you LOVE that matters to you most, and where everyone can win, and no one loses. And speaking of what matters most, let's talk about LOVE.

LOVE

There are ways to give and receive love, and I think it's what people truly need more than anything else in the whole world. One way to give LOVE is to be kind and caring to people you might not even know, because Mama has taught me that everyone has struggles and sad or bad days. Even though I'll never know when one of those days might be when I make a big difference, my smile and kindness could change someone's day from sad to glad.

So, I make it my doggy duty never to come home unless I've made someone happy, even when I'm in a hurry or might feel a little sad, like when we go home after visiting the sick kids.

Giving LOVE to people you don't know is impawtent, but expressing LOVE when things get messy is even more powerful.

Another way to express LOVE when it's difficult is by staying kind and caring when things become muddy and messy. For example, Mama still loved me as much as ever, even though she had to pay a lot of money to clean her white couch that I made very dirty, or when we had to take a trip to the emergency vet because I ate all her chocolate despite her telling me not to.

But rather than getting really mad, she continued to show me lots of LOVE by teaching me how my mess became her mess—not to hurt me but to help me learn a big life lesson. That's how I know her LOVE will always remain, and it's not just because I'm irresistibly cute; it's because it's real, and that makes me feel really safe. When you give and receive love in this special way, it's embracing the live*love*play.

PLAY

And to complete the pawfect life formula to follow the Toffy pawlosophy, you must also learn to PLAY. I have to say, learn because even my Mama can keep working and working. She's super lucky she has me by her side because I'm really good at playing every day, and I always make sure Mama is part of that plan.

One way I've learned why I must PLAY every day is through my experience of training to become a therapy dog, a security dog, and even a dog blogger. Do you remember how I told you how hard I had to work and how tired I became? It's because I was so busy learning that I played less and less. But here's the amazing thing about taking time to PLAY - no matter how busy you are, when you stop to PLAY, you gain enough new energy to do lots of zoomies, and that helps you keep going and not want to stop. And... when I take time to PLAY, I also get new pup-spirations, which helps work go faster and better.

I've become a pro player. I know all the games I have to PLAY and even know which game is best to PLAY at a certain time. For instance, if I've been writing and blogging, the best way to PLAY is to chase after a ball. But if I've been practicing how to do a good job as a Security Dog, the best way to PLAY is to tear up a box.

One of the best ways I LOVE to PLAY is when Mama and I go on incredible adventures to new places—it's fun and exciting, and I always feel my best when I get home. Sometimes, how I PLAY is watching Bluey or Nemo, and other times, I'm just snuggling with Mama and doing nothing at all. I hope you LOVE to PLAY like I do—it's what makes life truly pawsome. And there's one more thing that brings it all together.

I know I'm incredibly lucky because I have the best Mama. She's the strength and glue that keeps our little pack together. She's our Top Dog, who knows how to LIVE and LOVE better than most. But I have to be honest: when it's time to PLAY, I'm the best there is, without a doubt. That's why we have such an incredible team.

While live*love*play is my three-part pawlosophy, there's one more special ingredient that makes everything better. You need special people who watch your tail, can do what you can't, and appreciate what you do that they can't do. None of us are good at everything in life; even if we were, it's no fun to do things alone.

So, my birthday wish is for you to find your special way to live*love*play with people you LOVE who will always watch your tail and make your life feel more pawfect and more pawsome than we could ever imagine.

Toffy xoxo

#lifewithtoffy #toffysdogblog #thinkliketoffy PS! If you liked this edition of Toffy’s Dog Blog, please share it with your friends and family and help me share my message to live*love*play!