Jedi recently finished growing in terms of height and length. He's still a slim and trim adolescent. Whenever I lift him and cradle him, he feels as if he hasn't gained any weight in months, yet his body appears healthy and shapely. I compare his size with that of other retrievers at the dog beach, and I see no differences between him and the adult dogs except for his athletic build. Lab owners have advised me that his energy level won't decrease until he turns 2 or 3 years old, which is why I continue to call him my puppy, because he behaves like one. I can't wait for this bad boy to calm down.

February 3 is his birthday. I took the day off from work so that I could take him to his favorite place, Huntington Dog Beach. Unfortunately, we mostly met dogs as anti-social as their owners. There wasn't much playtime, so I jogged along the shore while Jedi chased me. When we got home, I soaked his paws in a chai tea bath. I probably could've used any tea, but chai was what I found in the pantry. I use the tea to soothe his sensitive skin, as sand always gets trapped between his paw pads and irritates him. For dinner, I fed him pieces of raw chicken, a handful of blueberries, and some carrots. He loved his dinner and responded well to his second meal of raw chicken.