Ernie was just like any other puppy. For as much as he wanted to play he also wanted to sleep. There was no denying his love of the snow. I got him in the winter so he had plenty of white mounds to bounce around in all over my backyard. He made a habit of shoving his face into the snow and running forward. I don't know what he got out of doing that but he still does it to this day.

Realizing that Ernie loved the snow and being wet, I figured his first spring needed to have a little pool in the backyard. He loved it. Little did I know he would really only fit in it for the first year. Nine years later it is still brought out every summer and he stands in it for a good time.

Oh, the mud. This was a frustrating day for me but it turned out incredibly cute.

I was working in my home studio about to record a radio interview but Ernie wouldn't be quiet. I closed the kitchen door but he barked, whined and howled. I moved his kennel to the basement and closed every door that would be between us but I could still hear him through the microphone. Even though it was raining I had no choice but to send him outside for about 10 minutes. Little did I know that he would get the last laugh and find a patch of mud in the backyard and make it much bigger than the original size.

Like most pet owners I was furious that he was filthy but of course I had to grab the camera because it was just so darn cute. But let me tell you, it was tough to take him from the back door to the bathtub to get him cleaned up.

After he outgrew his pool, Ernie took his first trip to the lake. He had been in bathtubs and little kid pools in the backyard before but never a large body of water. He was a little hesitant to go in on his own. It took me going in about two feet before he reluctantly followed me in. But once we found a stick that he liked he got a little more comfortable going for a swim. Then a beach goer had a tennis ball they allowed us to use and for the next two hours Ernie was back and forth in the water. Truth be told, my arm was sore from throwing the ball so much but he wanted to keep going.

Ernie became quite predictable because he would bring the ball out of the water, he would drop it on the ground, pick it up again, place it down, shake his entire body and spray water everywhere and then bring the ball to be thrown again. I never really understood the routine since he was heading back into the water seconds later but it became part of the process.

Ernie was excited to see the pumpkin. It was like a giant orange ball he thought he could play with. But once it was cut open he set his sights on eating what was inside. He was quite curious about checking it out and was given a few pumpkin seeds to try. Actually, at one point he put his head in the pumpkin and came out with a few seeds on his face.

Back in the snow, Ernie was curious about the formation that was growing in the backyard. It wasn't so much the snowman as it was the food that made up the snowman's head. Ernie circled the unsuspecting snow person a few times before going in for the kill and ripping off his face. OK, it wasn't that gruesome he just grabbed the veggies and ran away.