M could have been for....

….Marriage (my happy state since 8-8-08)…Mom (who hasn’t spoken to me since I decided to marry outside of Islam)……or the Mazda CX-9 (my new car! and in Copper Mica Red....I LOVE Red)……
....but today, "M" is for Milo, who along with Achilles, were the very first to take a ride in our new car.....

Doesn't their golden fur just look gorgeous alongside the red color? Oh, and Beloved doesn't look so bad himself. Tee hee.

My cuddly, warm Milo Bear, the Happiest Boy, and Achilles’ Best Friend. Lately we’ve also taken to calling him Sir-Barks-a-Lot. He’ll just get all excited about something, start hopping around and barking.

From the moment I wake up in the morning, to the last minute of my day, Milo is smiling. He sits and looks out at the world with a permanent smile. He is never moody, the glass is always half full, and he loves everyone he meets. His favorite spot to sit while in the house is up against our couch. From there, he follows my every move with his eyes, ears perked up, waiting to see where I will park myself, so he can come over and smile at me, tail waggin’ away, asking for some sweet lovin’ and soft pettin’.

It's terrible, but I love snapping pictures of him sleeping. I try to capture that absolute serenity that dogs achieve when sleeping. If only humans could achieve the same every time they sleep.

The white fur on his beautiful face is heart-shaped, with the crest right between his eyes...so very fitting for soulful Milo.

He's patient and tolerant with little old man Achilles, who often finds that the best place to sleep is right up on Milo somehow. I can't imagine it is very comfortable for Milo, but he loves Achilles and would do anything for him.

I love many things about Milo, and I could dedicate a hundred blog posts to all the reasons why I love Da Milo Bear. One of those things is the fact that Milo is Achilles’ #1 protector. I really think he realizes that Achilles is old and tries to protect him. When we’re at the dog park and the young doggies want to jump around Achilles’ face wanting to play, Milo jumps right in barking, lettin’ all the young ones know that Achilles is just there to chill and enjoy the sunset. Protecting Achilles is how Milo got his first war wound. Poor baby.

Milo also defers to Achilles on everything. For example, Achilles eats much faster than Milo, and after he’s done, he trots over to Milo, waiting to see if he’ll leave any in the bowl. Quite often Milo leaves a couple of bites in his bowl and walks away, and I like to think he does that on purpose to make Achilles happy.

Given Achilles’ advanced age, he often doesn’t want to walk as far as Milo can. So, sometimes we start out, walk a few blocks, and then Achilles wants to turn around and go home. I can tell Milo wants to keep going, but he is ever so patient as we walk Achilles back home, let him in the house, and then turn around to head back to the park together.

Peaceful, handsome Milo sleeping...again....can you say stalker!? ;-)

He's a Golden Sun Lover extraordinaire (much like his Auntie Laura up in Seattle now)....

Oh, how he loves to toast himself in the warm California sun before coming inside to settle in for a long nap.

One of Milo's favorite games is "take and keep away"....where he finds a ball, toy, or a shoe, that doesn't belong to him, and practices evasive techniques as we helplessly try to retrieve the object.
Everyone once in a while he'll pose like a pissed off British dude with Asian eyes.

Of our two dogs, Milo is probably the most bonded with Ed. One of my favorite pics....

Reason #4,859,963 why I love Milo Bear....that gorgeous Cindy Crawford mole on his face. He's a Supermodel.

Milo in his favorite spot again...

Sleeping beauty again and his paparrazzi stalker (me!)....

I started my blog in honor of our first dog, Nick, who left us all too soon, another victim of the monster that is cancer. So, I wanted to honor the letter M with an ode to Milo, a Golden Retriever who found a way into my broken heart and set up camp.

Nick died on July 10, 2007, a Tuesday. We adopted him through the Golden Retriever rescue (see link on right) a short 20 months before his passing. After Nick died, Ed wanted to help dog-sit one of the rescue’s foster dogs to ease the pain of our empty home. Milo came to our house on a Saturday. Four days after Nick’s death. It was “difficult”, so say the least.

Now, as you can see, I cannot even begin to imagine my life without Milo. I will go to my grave hating myself for not giving him the affection and love he craved on that first Saturday we dogsat for him. When I remember it sometimes, I want to literally slap myself. We obviously adopted Milo (and Achilles) a month after Nick died, but that was only because I needed “more time”. Realizing what mental and emotional life savers my Achilles & Milo were for me, I wish I could turn back time and have adopted them right away. Actually, I should have seen Nick's rainbow as a sign, but I was behaving so selfishly at the time.
Here he is again as pissed off British dude with Asian eyes....

Did I tell you that Milo is always happy? It is SOOO infectious. I mean seriously, this dog is happy if you feed him a bowl of dirt, or if you feed him filet mignon. He’s happy if he goes to the park, or if we only have time for a short jaunt around the block. Milo is the epitome of what you’d think of if you imagined someone (or some dog) simply “rollin’ with life”.....

My favorite is when he sits smiling with his paws crossed. This dog also has an uncanny ability to know when I'm sad or not feeling well. He is so sensitive to my emotions and will come running over, and not leave my side, if he realizes something is amiss. Sometimes Ed and I will be horsing around and Ed will tickle me or something, and as I'm squealing and laughing, Milo thinks I'm in trouble and he sets himself upon Ed with a barking fury that is HYSTERICAL!

He was a BIG BOY when we adopted him. I think he topped 88 pounds if I remember correctly. He also has the most unique fur of any Golden I’ve ever known. His fur grows straight out of his body, like porcupine quills. So, in addition to his weight, his fur also made him look like a giant Golden Polar bear, hence his nickname….Da Milo Bear. But, through steady walks and activity, he has shed his “baby” weight and has maintained a svelte 73 pounds ever since.

Milo is also a cat shit connoisseur. Nothing tastes yummier than a steaming pile of fresh cat nougats. Good grief. While eating cat shit is one thing I do NOT love about Milo, I do love how life is all about the simple pleasures for him.

Milo is a great dog and I love my furbaby to pieces!!!!!!!!

Thanks for checking out my letter "M" honoree....for more honorees go to
http://unglazed.blogspot.com for more A to Z Mondays!

Now, I'm off to Zoom-Zoom with Milo & Achilles in the new doggie-mobile!