In the 6 years that I have known my mom and dad it’s hard for me to imagine that before I came along there were other dogs. Like lots of other dogs! Crazy right?

Well ok, technically I’m the very first dog for my dad, but my mom….she’s had many adventures with the dogs before me. So today since it’s #throwbackthursday I thought it would be fun to share some of those dogs that came before me. Because you know what, I’m not so different from them.

My mom started her love of dogs at a very young age. Here she is with one of the firsts, a rescue dog named Deacon.

If you fast forward to 1991 – my mom’s family rescued Sneakers. She was a golden mix, and if you look closely you can see her two front paws were white, as if she was wearing sneakers. She went on to be a 4-H dog and even earned her Canine Good Citizen certification.

But see, my mom loved dogs so much that she wanted a dog to call her very own. So after years of pleading she became the owner of her very first dog, a rescued black labrador retriever named Big Jack Attack. (Jack for short).

My mom tells me stories of how Jack was a big lovable bear. He literally would attack you for kisses when you came in the door (sounds a little bit like me too). The more stories I hear about my mom’s life with Jack, the more I can’t help but think we were pretty darn similar.

Jack loved the snow, and to go sledding – just like me!

He loved to channel his inner cowboy, just like me.

Jack even loved ponies, just like me. (above he’s pictured with my mom’s childhood pony, Oopsie Daisy).

Jack loved adventure, and loved nothing more than to spend time on the water – just like me (and my spastic swimming pal Trooper).

Jack had fashionable rain gear, just like me.

Jack didn’t mind bundling up in the snow, just like me.

He had a great hair stylist, just like me.

Jack was an expert for posing for mom’s photographs, just like me.

While Jack passed away in 2006, I know that his memory continues to live on in many of the things that I still do today. I only wish I could have met him, because something tells me we would have been great friends.

There are many many more stories I could share about the dogs before me, but we’ll have to save that for another time. Now it’s your turn to tell me, what sort of fun memories did you have of your beloved furry friends?