My name is Joy and I am a four years old Golden Retriever. I have soft, fluffy ears, a tail that wags like a happy flag. I love my pack family.

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I live in a cozy house in the suburbs with Kai, Mia, and two parents who laugh a lot and love spending time together. Our neighborhood has sidewalks for walking, driveways for playing, and seven maple trees that surround our house like a friendly team of tall, leafy giants. I know there are seven trees because I count them on our walks. One, two, three, all the way to seven. Sometimes I sniff each one too, just to make sure they are still doing their tree business.

 

Kai is nine years old and plays tennis. When he grabs his racket, I know something fun is coming. Tennis balls are my favorite things in the whole world. Round, bouncy, and perfect for chasing. Kai can bounce a tennis ball on the driveway, thump, thump, thump, and my paws start dancing all by themselves.

 

Mia is seven years old and loves soccer. Her soccer ball is bigger than a tennis ball, so I cannot carry it in my mouth. But I can still help! I use my nose to nudge the soccer ball back to her, and she laughs and shouts, “Good pass, Joy!” .That makes me feel like a real teammate.

 

This morning, the sun made bright squares on the kitchen floor. I woke up, stretched my legs, and did a little wiggle-roll because my body was full of happy energy. The parents were already in the kitchen, smiling and singing a silly song while they made breakfast. I think some grown-ups forget how to have fun sometimes, but not my parents.

 

Kai and Mia came running in. "Hi, Joy!", Mia said, giving me a hug. "Morning, girl.”, Kai said, rubbing behind my ears. My tail wagged so hard my whole body wiggled. That is what happens when you love people as much as I do. Sometimes it makes a burst of extra energy shoot right into my paws and zoom, I do a quick loop around the living room running excitedly. Humans call it zoomies, but I call it joy escaping from my feet. 

 

After breakfast, we went outside. Kai practiced tennis. Mia practiced soccer. The parents cheered and clapped and took turns being the coach, even though we were not really playing a real game. We were playing a family game, the best kind.

 

Kai hit a tennis ball softly across the yard. "Joy! Fetch!". I ran like a Golden rocket. Grass flew under my paws. Wind tickled my nose. I grabbed the ball gently and hurried back, proud as can be.

 

Mia rolled her soccer ball toward me. I pounced and bumped it back with my nose. Mia giggled. "Joy can do everything!".

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Then I heard it. Scritch-scratch. A squirrel sat in Maple Tree Number six, teasing me like it dared me to chase the squirrel. My ears popped up. My legs tensed. My brain shouted, "CHASE!". But then I heard Mom’s calm voice. "Leave it, Joy.". I stopped. I sat. My tail still wagged, but slower now because I was choosing the best thing. Obey pack family first. Mom smiled, "Good girl!".

 

Kai hugged me. Mia leaned her head against my shoulder. The parents stood close, and for a moment we were all together under the maple trees, like the whole world was our backyard.

 

Dad said, "How about a picnic after practice?". Mia cheered. Kai grinned. My tail thumped the ground. A picnic means blankets. Snacks. Laughter. And maybe, if I do my best polite-dog face I will get a tiny bite of cheese.

 

And while they talked about what fun things we would do next, I looked down the street at the seven maple trees swaying gently. I had a feeling those trees were watching over us. And I had an even bigger feeling that tomorrow one of them might lead us to a brand-new adventure. Are you ready for my life stories? Let us begin. "Woof!".