I can’t believe Rico is five already! He’s just the sweetest and most sensitive dog I’ve ever had. And he has all the enthusiasm you could ever hope for.
I took this photo this morning.

Poor thing. He just hates posing so much. And yet I continue to torture him.
Rico was one of eight puppies born on November 1, 2016. Here he is on the day he was born.

Look at that big old foot!
This is Rico’s mama Mira with her eight puppies. Rico is somewhere in that puppy pile!

Here he is when he was a few weeks old and the puppies were given some goats milk. I’m pretty sure he went swimming in it!

This is Rico at about a month old. He was called Spot until I named him because he has a black spot on his belly.

Here he is at about four weeks old. I would know him anywhere!

This is me and Rico when I flew to Utah to bring him home to Oregon when he was 8 weeks old.

Oh, how I miss those gorgeous mountains!
This photo was taken the same day. Look at how big his feet were! I should have known he’d end up big!

These are the first photos my friend Heather took of Rico when he first came home to Oregon. She’s a wonderful photographer and I’m so lucky to have such amazing photos of my dogs.

Good lord. Just ridiculously cute!
Incoming!

These photos are from Rico’s first hike with all his border collie friends.

Such a sweet expression on his face.
And here he is enjoying the organic Oregon country side.

This photo was taken the day I sneaked Rico into the office to meet everyone there.

That’s a big bag and he didn’t fit in it for very long.
A week or so after I brought Rico home we had a huge snow storm. Forrest got cold out in the snow and Rico cuddled up next to him to keep him warm.

Rico and Bender were destined to be the best of friends.

He was always a beefcake!

I kept track of Rico’s growth by photos in this doorway.

I came home from work one day to find that Hurricane Rico had devastated the kitchen.

This was Rico’s very first trip to the Oregon Coast. I think he liked it.

Every puppy I’ve ever had discovers the toilet paper at some point.

And here’s proof that he actually can be a very bad dog.

This was the very first time Rico met sheep. Little did he know his future would have a lot of sheep in it.

My friend Heather took this photo of Rico to celebrate his first birthday. What a handsome and manly kid!

And Rico is more than just a pretty face. He’s incredibly athletic and talented. Look at all this power and concentration!

And he’s cool and collected when working on sheep.

We celebrated Rico’s birthday tonight with a peanut butter, banana and honey cake I made for him. He did not like waiting for it to cool.

Happy birthday Rico!

Happy birthday Rico! You look such a cute and friendly dog, a friend for life!
He’s really a great dog! I’m so lucky to have him.
Anne
Happy Birthday Rico from Bella, 5 in December and Cali, 2 on the 23rd. What a handsome boy you are.
Thanks! Happy early birthday to Bella and Cali!
Anne
Happy Birthday, Rico!! I so loved all the pictures of you. You are such a beautiful dog and very talented too. Hope you loved your special cake.
They are still eating on that cake several days later. they get all excited when they see me pull the container out of the fridge. And it smells so good… they might have to fight me for the last piece!
Anne
Thanks for sharing all these special moments with us. Now we love him too
Awww. He’s all verklempt!
Anne
As much as I love learning about Frankenbags, I must say I love hearing about your gorgeous dogs just as much.
Warm regards
Jan
Thanks! It’s all just a big old party here all the time!
Anne
Happy birthday Rico! I just love the baby pics of him. ❤️
I’m so glad I have all those photos of him when he was tiny!
Anne
Happy Birthday Rico! Our granddaughter has a new puppy like him, I hope they grow to be as close as you and Rico are.
They will have a wonderful relationship! I didn’t have a dog when I was a kid until I was in junior high. It was the best!!! And now I’m the only one of five siblings that has dogs!
Anne
Happy Birthday Rico ! Thanks for sharing the fun photos of him. He and Bender have many adventures in their very loving home !
We all rely on each other! Especially these days! Can’t imagine life without them!
Anne
Great photos of a wonderful friend!!
Happy Birthday Rico 🎂🎊🎂
Rico says, “Thanks!”
Happy Birthday Rico! What an adorable boy you are ❤️!
He is adorable!
Anne
I just want to “Love” every one of those pictures! What a sweetheart.
He’s really a sweet dog. I love that it comes through in photos!
anne
Happy Birthday Rico. What a lucky boy you are. Love seeing your life in photographs. Say Hi to your mum from me.
Rico says “hi” and “thanks!”
Happy Birthday Rico – you’re a good boy!
Happy birthday sweet Rico! Sounds like you had a great day with your Mom and your brother! So good to see pictures of his journey so far in life.
I really had fun going through all those old photos. He was certainly a beefy kid and so cute!
Anne
Oh my gosh what a handsome dude. Beautiful pix. Favorites: stocking hanging on post and beach. Huge paws!! You’re one lucky/happy mama.
I love that photo of him in that stocking! I would know him anywhere! That big old black nose!
I’m lucky to have him. He’s a great dog.
Anne
Aww, Happy birthday Mr. Rico!!!! I loved all the pictures and was so surprised to see he’s younger than Bender! I don’t know why I thought Bender was younger, they are both so handsome and sweet. Love the picture by the doorway with Forrest, must have been such happy times with the three of them together. Our Callie just turned 5 on October 16, a Border Collie mix from the SPCA. She is hands down the smartest dog I have ever known 🙂 So, do you have baby pictures of Bender too, please? You are a very lucky mama 🙂
I’ll have to do a post about Bender and share some baby photos. He’s so photogenic and I have hundreds of photos of him that my friend took… every week of his life until he was 6 months old.
Rico seemed to sense that Forrest was old and he needed to take care of him. He was very gentle with him and Forrest put up with a lot from Rico! Bender too!
Anne
I do SO enjoy the dog photos – fun to see Rico grow up! (and of course, I adore your colorful KF posts as well).
Thanks! Can’t imagine life without my dogs!
Anne
Happy Birthday Rico. You are one handsome dude. Loved seeing all the puppy pics.
He is so handsome and so sweet!
Anne
Happy Birthday Rico ! I loved all of his pictures. Thank you for sharing.🐶
He says “thanks!”
I just want to give Rico a big kiss on the nose!. Happy Birthday baby doll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It would be a really wet kiss… if you’re into that kind of thing!
Anne
Rico looks like he is a character and way too smart! The new born photo makes me think of a guinea pig except for those paws of course! It’s always nice to see one dog taking care of another as Rico was doing with Forrest. Brought a tear to my eye as I just had to put down one of my dogs two weeks ago. She tore up her bed soon after we got her and then looked at us like “Who me? Must have been that other dog in the house”! Still fragile about her loss but that is the risk we take when we get pets.
I can’t imagine losing one dog and not having another one in the house. It’s just too quiet.
And I agree… it’s hard to lose them, but they bring so much to us while they’re here. So sorry for your loss.
Anne
Happy birthday to Rico! My Amira is 13 years young!
Super cute! Happy birthday Rico! We love our fur babies!
Can’t imagine life without my boys.
Anne
Hi, Jo! This post comes almost every day from a busy quilter in Oregon. She does amazing quilts and bags but also has two dogs, Rico and Bender. Rico does agility training and is also learning to herd sheep. She always includes pics of her dogs in her posts but today’s is exclusively about Rico because it’s his birthday. Tought you might enoy it! Linda Also, she lives out in the country, so they have lots of outdoors to work and play in.
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did you know you sent this to me? Anne with Rico and Bender??? Hahaha!
Anne
what a sweet boy! Happy Birthday Rico!
Rico says “thanks!”
Happy Birthday Rico! You are the cutest and your momma loves you very much.
He’s such a sweetie!
Anne
Border Collies……my favorite breed. Wish I could have one again, but sadly, I’m not in good enough shape anymore to keep up with all that energy. Thanks a bunch for enabling me to live vicariously through your posts. Happy Birthday, Rico!!
Yes! Border collies are not for couch potatoes! We all keep each other on our toes and active!
Anne
Fabulous pictures. Thanks for sharing. And, what is that hat pattern he is wearing for his 5th birthday picture?
That hat is a free pattern called Wurm. If you’re on Ravelry, you can find it there. I’ve made around 20 or 30 of them! it’s a great pattern.
Anne
Oh my, what a cutie, happy birthday Rico!!!
He’s a good kid!
Anne