This week is the one year anniversary of Asa coming to live with us.  Time for another performance review!  I’ll be asking my little brother the same questions as I did for his First 100 Days Review and Six Month follow up:

How do you see your role in this family?

Excellent question!  I see myself as the family’s Entertainment Director.  Whether it is a trip outside to play fetch under the guise of needing to go to the bathroom, or barking in the night to remind you that life is short and that you should play with your puppy, I feel it is my responsibility to get you all active and moving.  This holds especially true for you, my brother.  You’re becoming lazy, so it is my job to pounce on you when napping to encourage play.  No need to thank me for my efforts though.  It’s my pleasure.  I also see my role in the family as complimenting your personality.  I feel I am more of a realist.  You have to admit you do overreact from time to time, and some of your theories on Aliens are a bit far fetched.

I’m going to disregard that last comment and move on to the next question.  What are your greatest accomplishments so far?

Wow, where to begin on that one?  When I arrived here one year ago I’m ashamed to admit that going to the bathroom outside was a novelty for me.  So from mastering control over my bladder, to learning new commands, to even sharing my toys, I’ve come a long way!  However, I think my greatest accomplishment is accepting you’re not my personal chew toy.  You should have cut me some slack though, and not insinuated I was a Zombie Puppy!  As for Mom and Dad, I hate to say it but they were in a slump and needed some retraining.  For example, rather than patiently waiting at the door to let us out, I’ve taught them that we’re in charge and that I won’t stop pawing them until they stop what they are doing and open the door.  It wasn’t easy, but I think I’ve trained them nicely to meet our needs.

Ok, you may have a point there about Mom and Dad.  But you’re still an annoying Zombie Puppy!  What are your goals for this year?

I want to go on more adventures!  Although we’ve been to a lot of dog friendly places in the past year, there are so many more new locations to visit.  Therefore, I want to continue my exploration of Southern Maine, Seacoast New Hampshire, and even delve more deeply into Massachusetts.  There is a big world out there, and as your Entertainment Director I plan to see it all!  Mom and Dad are also a work in progress, so I will continue training them as well.  Perhaps even teach them a new trick or two?  Oh and I’d like to fulfill my destiny of becoming a Dire Wolf.

I’m reluctant to ask, but is there anything that we can do better?

No offense, but there’s always room for improvement!  Perhaps you could let Mom and Dad pet me from time to time, rather than always getting jealous and squeezing in between us.  And I really would appreciate it if you would refrain from destroying toys when you get tired of playing with them.  Has it ever occurred to you that I may want to keep playing with that toy?  As for Mom and Dad, must they waste so much valuable winter playtime putting on all those clothes before heading outside?  Daylight is precious this time of year, not to mention their mobility seems incredibly hindered by all those layers.  Last but not least, I couldn’t help but noticed in a recent post you mentioned perhaps letting me have my own column on this website.  When will that happen exactly?

Oh look at the time!  This ends our one year review.  Oh and once again, opinions expressed by Asa do not necessarily reflect those of myself or my parents!