10/15/2026
6 years of my Bumper. 🤍
The dog who started it all. The one who turned my love for dogs into my career and changed my life in more ways than he’ll ever know. Sometimes I think about how different my life would look if I had never gotten him. So much of the life I’ve built goes back to that one dog who started it all.
He was my first dog, my first love, and the one who set the bar impossibly high for every dog who came after him. People always say you never forget your first dog, and now I understand why. There will be other dogs I love with my whole heart, but there will never be another Bumper.
I’ve always said I’ll never own another golden retriever, because how could I? They’ll never be him. No dog will ever compare, and no dog will ever have the same piece of my heart that he does. Not because other dogs won’t be special in their own ways, but because he’ll always be Bumper.
He’ll forever be my first love and, someday, my biggest heartbreak. I try not to think about a world without him, because I truly don’t know how you prepare to say goodbye to the dog who started it all. I hope I never have to find out for a very, very long time.
Happy 6th birthday to my once-in-a-lifetime boy. If I could go back and choose my first dog a thousand times over, I’d choose you every single time. Here’s to many more years with my boy, because I’m just not ready to imagine a life without you. I love you more than words could ever explain, Bumper. Always my first, always my boy. 🤍🐾
