Last year we frantically drove to Target hours before trick or treating began to find the perfect costume for Charlie. We knew it was kind of ridiculous, but it had only been a month since Charlie's congestive heart failure diagnosis, and we had started to treat every holiday or milestone as if it might be our last. So we found the best option of the remaining costumes left on the sparse shelves, and Charlie spent his Halloween as a rock star (complete with mohawk).

But this year, I started planning his costume months ago, knowing that there was a solid chance that it might not be needed. And so I made a plan, but I waited until a couple of weeks ago to start putting it into action.

When Charlie was diagnosed with CHF, we had to make a ton of changes. The food he was eating had too much sodium, so he started a prescription dog food. His treats changed from bacon to bell peppers (he LOVES bell peppers-especially the yellow and red ones).

And that's when it hit us. Starbucks gives dogs puppuccinos in the drive-thru. And so it began.

Charlie is now a regular at Starbucks, and is on a first name basis with most of the baristas. He starts licking his lips the second we pull in the parking lot, and has been known to bark his puppuccino order at the speaker to help speed up the process.

So naturally, it only made sense that he dress up like his heroes, the Starbucks baristas.

Because those little cups of whipped cream may seem like they're no big deal, but to Charlie, they are the best treat ever.

Happy Halloween!

You can read more about Charlie’s story here