
We’ve had Jacob for a year, and I can see a change in him. I think he knows this is his forever home.
The spot he sleeps in has changed throughout this year. At first he would sleep on the floor beside our bedroom door, or sometimes his dog bed next to our King bed. Then he figured out he could sleep on our bed, but he only slept at our feet. Few months passed and he moved to the middle of the bed. Now, you’d think a 45 pound dog on a king size bed wouldn’t take up a lot of room… you’d be wrong, but I thought the same thing. Finally, his current spot. Right between the pillows at the head of the bed. He curls into a ball and rests his head on either Amanda’s or my pillow. He’s big on sharing when it’s not his food.
He definitely makes life more interesting. Amanda and I always joke that he’s so expressive we always know what he’s thinking. If he looks at you and then his leash, means he wants to walk. If he stands in the dining room and talks, it means he wants a treat. If you offer him a treat, and he doesn’t want that particular kind, he rolls his head around and walks away with a huff.
Oh! Last night he howled for the first time.
At about 9:30pm, Amanda and I had just stepped outside to take Jacob for his last pee. All of a sudden a car alarm started going off in front of our apartment. Jacob’s ears perked up and he marched to the edge of our patio, nose pointed in the air.
“Well, that’s annoying.” Amanda says, louder than she probably thought.
A small whimper from Jacob.

“I don’t think he likes it either,” I say.
A few more whimpers escaped before a full head flip back howl bursts from the mighty guard dog. To which we burst out laughing.
I run up and pet him, “Bud, it’s okay.”
But Jacob kept his nose pointed at the danger.
A second later the alarm stopped, and we laughed some more.