Each year, rather than making New Year’s resolutions, I plan for goals—and hope that the journey along the way proves equally rewarding. Rather than say, “lose weight” I instead want to strive for good health. To that end, the past few months I try to swim several times a week and to choose healthier meal options by cooking at home. What about you?

Eleven-pound Magic takes down M on the first day he came home!

But it’s also become a tradition to take stock of the past year from a pets’-eye-view, and the year to come. This past year has been a joy with Bravo growing from a gangly puppy into a pony-size boy-dawg. He and Karma-Kat keep us laughing, and on our toes with their antics. So here are New Year Pet Goals from Karma, Bravo, and a couple from the spirit of Magic and Seren, with commentary by Amy.

NEW YEAR GOALS: Pets Past…

Magical-Spirit: “I will remind my humans daily to cherish each joy, and remember me with smiles.”

Amy: He loved fetch clear up to his last day with us, and found joy in every sniff, sound, treat, touch or game. Bravo has appropriated many of his best-loved toys. I take it as a message to us to lighten up… So my new year pet goals include being more like Magic and pay attention to everyday miracles of the touch of soft fur, smell of rain in the wind in my face, to find music in every brash or quiet sound, relish each taste whether tears or treats, and open my eyes to every glorious sunrise, storm cloud and rainbow in my life.

Seren was always determined to satisfy her resolutions.

Seren-Spirit: “I will remind my humans to ignore pesky aggravations like cat-brothers, stare down intimidating challenges (even if they’re 15 times your size like Magic), and find a sunny place in every situation.”

Amy: She remained in charge, the Queen of the house, to her last breath. A bit of a curmudgeon despite her tiny size, Seren ran our house and hearts with a benevolent paw. She never let arthritis stand in the way of a smidge of chicken, constantly reminded Karma who held the sharpest claws, and taught Magic—and her humans—what aging gracefully means. My new year pet goals include living like Seren, focusing on goals rather than roadblocks, stop complaining about age (not everyone gets the blessing of long life), and giving myself permission to turn off work and take a sun-puddle nap.

Bravo’s first days with us, my how he’s grown!

NEW YEAR GOALS: Pets Present…

Bravo-Dawg: “I will finally catch the RED-DOT-DEMON and make sure Amy releases it from the drawer more often. And I will carry Big-Ball-On-A-Rope (that smells like the spirit of a German Shepherd Boy), all over the place and wrestle it into submission. Oh, and I will play squash-the-Karma-Kat and only stop for the TREATS word. Because that’s what I do.”

Amy: Bravo has reached the 120-pound mark, but remains a gentle, goofy sweetheart. He’s full of boundless energy, and still doesn’t know his own strength. He keeps Karma’s head soaked with dog-spit from all the mouthing. The big baby needs more exercise, so my new year pet goals include more time outside with him helping me garden, and perhaps even some play dates with dogs his size.

Karma has decided my lap is the purr-fect place to be, especially when I need to work.

Karma-Kat: “I will stalk and tease and pounce on Amy’s feet, play “gravity experiments” on tabletops, take towel-surfing rides across the carpet, rattle window blinds, paw-dig at the TV screen, and constantly tease my brother-dawg, what fun!”

Amy: Karma adores teasing Bravo into chasing him. Having a rowdy dog and curious cat zooming around the furniture offers treat entertainment for them – and they sleep together each evening. But Karma needs more one-on-one games, too, where he doesn’t need to compete with the Bravo-Dawg. More New Year pet goals are to play interactive chase games with Karma each day to give him the exercise, attention, and fun he craves and deserves.

NEW YEAR GOALS: Pets Forever!

Magic-Spirit and Seren-Spirit: “We will train Amy there’s more to nine lives than paw-tapping and staring at a boxy computer-thing. Like catnip. And whisker-kisses. And we will train Amy that playing with pets is more fun than anything else. AND we will train Amy that there’s no such thing as too many treats. But time together is even better.”

Amy: My ultimate New Year pet goals are to listen to my furry muses. What about you?

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!