Hey everyone. I'm Jasper. Obviously the most important thing in Jordan and Grace's lives.

Not sure if you all knew, but I am the first major life decision my parents made together. Here I was enjoying the 4th of July at my foster's mom's house, and they took it upon themselves to claim me as one of their own. Being less than 8 old weeks old, Ms. Tracy treated me like a king. I had a playpen, buckets of food, toys, siblings, it was great. My favorite memory was when Mr. Chris accidentally set off all of his fireworks at once -sending all of the humans running from each other, tripping over lawn chairs and ducking for cover. It was beautiful.

That was the best day of my life. Because I met my first best friend: Toby.

Toby totally hated me at first. And to be fair, I had never met a blind dog before so it was well deserved. In hindsight, I suppose getting suddenly tackled or bitten by a tiny piranha wasn't the best way to get to know someone. While we missed out on love at first sight, we made do. A few weeks later, Ms. Tracy helped send me on my way to my new forever home. Gone were backyards and fresh grass, now I had a fancy 2BR in DC with three human roommates and my main dude, Toby. It was a weird learning curve. Going potty inside was clearly frowned upon, but the humans got to. So what's the deal? Why did I have to wait to get my harness on, walk down three hall ways, take an elevator ride, traverse the building's lobby, cross the street and THEN relieve myself? Nah. The elevator ride always got the best reaction.

The humans were fine. But as I grew up, I got to learn from the best. Toby knew where every snack was, even though he couldn't see them. Did Dad open a jar of peanut butter in the other room? Yup. Was the neighbor three blocks over grilling hot dogs? Yes, confirmed we're walking West. I can guarantee Mom and Dad couldn't eat dinner on their own, not without four eyes staring them down from inches away.

Toby taught me how to love. He showed me how to cherish things. Tennis balls. Any sort of cheese. Ice cream. Hose water. That tiny space on the couch that we knew we didn't fit. And Mom and Dad's necks while we slept. We knew our priorities. He was a momma's boy, and you've never seen a love so strong. So I dedicated my life to Dad, making sure that if he moved from room to room, I was there. If he sneezed, I was closest to his face. That if Mom called me, but Dad was in the other room, I'd rather stay in the other room.

Oh - lets take a quick time out and talk about snacks. As I've been suggesting, Toby and I ate everything. Carrots. Broccoli. Peanut butter. Hot dogs. Puppy cupcakes. The fat off Dad's steaks. But, do you know what the best thing on the planet is? Popcorn. Long live popcorn. Oh, that sensational noise of kernels hitting a hot pan, and the sudden pops, I lose my mind every time. Popcorn is definitely a family activity because we legit will sit on our parents until we get a bite. (Or in Mavis' case, dunking our heads into the bowl like a horse. More on her later.)

Because of how much we ate, we got to go on so many adventures! Me and Toby that is. Dad always talks about working out, but never does. I'd try to describe how many great things there are to find while hiking, but I'd probably get distracted by a stick and forget where I was. We've gone hiking in Maryland, kayaking in Virginia, camping in New York, pond diving in the country...it's been wonderful. Toby always led the charge - how he stayed on the path I'll never know, but he always knew how to follow his nose. Dude could smell a fresh mountain breeze coming before it hit us.

When we moved to Chicago, we got a great big old house. Toby stayed downstairs for the most part, but Dad and I had a whole room just for fetch! Probably because they didn't own enough furniture to fill it up, but really I think it was so I could have a play room.

I really miss Toby. We've traveled more miles in the car than most birds do in the air. We've lost, and found, more tennis balls than the intern at Wimbledon. He taught me everything I know, but most importantly, how to be a best friend. It's one thing to have a friend, but being one is better than anything else in the world. I helped him see when he couldn't, and he helped me perfect nap time. He was a grumpy old man who hated surprises, but he always had your back. Or a tennis ball. He always stole my tennis ball.

Now days, I'm stuck with a sister. She's kind of the worst. All she wants to do is play, dig holes in the back yard, bark at the mail man, and if I'm getting pet, she gets jealous! Jumps right in like she's more important. I don't think she really knows who I am, or how important I am to Dad.

But I'll tell you what: I'm pretty happy here. And I can't wait to teach Mavis what to do when the neighbor is grilling.