Anna adopted Oreo in 2013 when she just "went to look" at the Humane Society. Instead, Oreo picked her to become his family and they immediately, and necessarily, went to a pet supply store so that Oreo would have things! There, he picked out his signature purple collar. Oreo and Anna quickly became the best of pals traveling around Colorado and to Minnesota to visit family and friends. Oreo and Mike met in 2015 at a work get-together. Oreo quickly took to Mike, relentlessly climbing all over him. This would foreshadow the boisterous wrestling the two would engage in for years to come. In those early years, Mike would often doggy sit Oreo, eating barbecue together, which would become a consistent highlight in Oreo's many adventures with Anna and Mike. Oreo became a barbecue connoisseur, from Kansas Joe's to Central BBQ, Martin's, Smoque, Redbones, and his (and our) all-time favorite, Ragin’ Hog here in Denver (featured at our Friday night Welcome barbecue).

Over the years, Oreo, Anna, and Mike would take many trips into the mountains of Colorado, hiking, sightseeing, trying new restaurants, and looking (or sniffing) for wildlife. A favorite and deeply special location for all three was Grand Lake. There, Oreo would run free (and like a total lunatic) along Columbine Lake by day and snuggle up with Mike and Anna around the fireplace at night. Their adventures expanded with road trips to Maine, Nashville, Albuquerque, El Paso, Ames, the Minnesota North Shore, Binghamton and Albany, Boston, Pittsburgh, plus Calgary and Banff in Canada and many more places along the way. Over these trips, many of you got the chance to know our loveable goofball. Truly, one of his greatest joys was spending time with all the people he met on these adventures. He loved everyone!

We had planned for Oreo to join us for our wedding festivities. He would have absolutely loved to gather with all his favorite people, there to celebrate him, of course, enjoying food and fun, and food. Food! Unfortunately, he crossed the rainbow bridge last year. In honor of our dear Oreo, we are requesting that in lieu of gifts, friends and family please donate to the organization that brought Oreo into our lives and gave us so much love and joy, and so many wonderful memories.  Your donation will be a great tribute to Oreo, and us, and will help other families come together the way ours did.