Today, we’re celebrating 15 fabulous years with our first little Westie, Angus. He’s been an integral part of our family for so long now, I can barely remember what life was like before him. He’s now a senior dog, but he still has the heart and the soul of a puppy.

Angus was born in Joliette, Quebec and brought to Ottawa by a veterinarian with the rest of his litter. We had been thinking seriously about getting a dog and had been researching breeds. Once we determined that West Highland White Terriers would be perfect for us, I kept a look out in the Pets for Sale section of the paper — in those days we didn’t have the Internet to rely on for such things.

One beautiful Sunday in late summer, I spotted an ad for a litter of two male and three female Westies and said to my partner in crime: “Let’s just go and take a look…” The rest is history. We met Angus’ mother — a beautiful and calm Westie — and played with all his brothers and sisters. The vet gave us all the information we wanted, showed us Angus’ papers and told us he had been microchipped.

Angus was bright and strong and very inquisitive. He took a real liking to Bob. And the feeling was definitely mutual. I was a total goner, of course, from the moment I saw the puppies. Bob took a little more time, but before we knew it we were making an agreement. A few weeks later we went back to pick him up and I can honestly say we have loved every minute with Angus since then. Happy birthday, Angus!