I recently had to say good-bye to my 16-1/2 year old blue heeler/Italian greyhound mix. It was just 8 days shy of her gotcha day 16 years ago on August 21, 2010. The little bundle of fear that I brought home from the shelter that day changed my life and changed me. My first dog. We had to sign special papers saying that we understood she had a bite history. She also had mange. She was on death row. No one wanted her. But, I did. I wanted her.

I asked each of my animals what they were grateful for. Here are their responses!

A few weeks ago I took my dog Pepper on her annual hiking vacation. We have been doing these hiking vacations for years. They started when Pepper was just three or four years old. My neighbor friend had a condo in Mount Crested Butte. So every year Pepper and I would make that our base camp for our long hikes in the Maroon Bells. A feral pup before I rescued her from death row, Pepper has always seemed most at home in the mountains.

"I love my new life. They take super good care of me. Like royalty." He knows he has leveled up in this new life and feels like a king.