Especially when we do things together, our dogs might frequently appear like part of the family. So it only seems reasonable that our dogs and cats would participate in the celebrations of life’s milestones.
That is exactly how Olivia Dufresne felt when Yogi, the family dog, was 12 years old, the typical age in Quebec at which one completes elementary school.
Yogi, a Maltese-Yorkshire terrier-Shih Tzu mix, and his big sisters Pamela and Olivia Dufresne have a very close relationship. “We adore him and, even if he is not a human, we consider him a full member of our family,” Pamela Dufresne told The Dodo. “He is our little prince, our little treasure.”
Yogi has become such a big part of their lives that he almost seems human … almost.
According to Dufresne, “He’s quite intellectual, and he knows a lot of terms that many dogs wouldn’t.” “You can converse to him just like you would a person,” When they’re not having fun, Yogi is a particularly sweet younger brother who is always there when they need a little emotional support. The girls like spending days playing hide-and-seek with him.
“When we cry, he tries to make us laugh by licking our tears,” Dufresne added. “He puts himself between us when we argue,” I said.
Being a dog, there is only so much Yogi can do, but that doesn’t stop the sisters from imagining what could be possible — if he just had a little less fur.
“Since we were young, my sister and I love to imagine different scenarios in which our dog acts like a human: going to school, playing soccer, crossing the border illegally, playing video games, getting arrested,” Dufresne said. “In our imagination, he did all those things!”
Yogi’s epic (and not so epic) imaginary adventures have been quite entertaining for his sisters, so when they started talking about Yogi graduating this year, Olivia decided to finally make it a reality.
Dufresne said, “As a surprise, my sister Olivia decided to discreetly prepare a graduation photo. Then, while no one was home, she swapped out an old baby photo between my sister’s and my own graduation images with one of our dog.
The entire endeavor took a few hours of careful Photoshop work — but the effort was well worth it. In fact, Olivia almost did too good a job, as her family didn’t notice the swap on the mantel for quite some time.
“When we did, we laughed for a good 10 minutes, then we cried a little out of proudness,” Dufresne said. “To this day, Yogi’s graduation picture is the main attraction of the living room.”
Thankfully, everyone in the family agrees that Yogi’s portrait should be displayed prominently. Dufresne said, “It will probably remain there till our demise.” “We really adore him!”
The excited sisters of Yogi are already planning ways to celebrate their brother’s impending teenage years on his next birthday.
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