One year ago today

Our miniature schnauzer, Otto, was born.

Seven weeks later, he came into our lives.

Out of all his brothers and sisters, Otto was easily the most timid, shaking like a leaf whenever we reached out to touch him.

B worried that might not be such a good thing.

"He needs some spark," he said.

But I pointed out Otto's sweet face and long eyelashes to B. We could see he had a good heart.

And it didn't take long to figure out he was ours.

We had no idea what we were in for when we took Otto home... puppies, however adorable, are really vicious little monsters, hell-bent on destruction.

Otto, "the peeing machine", cried all night, pooped everywhere, chewed up the flat and terrorised our ankles with his razor sharp puppy teeth. Running through the house daily, with Otto chomping at my heels, became a daily event.

Over time though, little Otto grew.

And grew.

While he was now sleeping through the night, peeing and pooping only where he should, and no longer nipping our ankles, destroying our apartment was still high on Otto's agenda.

8 months into his life, we decided he was bored and needed a brother. So we found Ted.

They are now the best of friends as well as brothers.

Dogs can truly change your life.

Otto's affectionate heart, sweet smell and cheeky personality changed ours.

Happy birthday furry little creature. We heart you.