Monday, December 5th, my life changed in a major way. As I was sitting at a work Christmas party, I received a text from my girlfriend, Alex. She had gotten us a puppy. That morning she had gone to a shelter and rescued a dog. I had mixed feelings. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs and I have wanted to get one for a long time. Alex and I talked about it and we knew that eventually we would. But this was different. After the Christmas party, I was leaving later that day for Black Mountain for the next few days on a work trip meaning I wouldn't meet this dog (now known as Sophie) until Thursday night. This gave me a lot of extra time to think about what life would mean for us now.

I know, looking at that picture really makes you wonder how I could have any doubt that this was a good idea. I mean LOOK AT HER! But while I drove up to Black Mountain, the doubts were definitely there. For example, there's the responsibility of taking care of a dog. Feeding her, walking her, playing with her. Then there's the fact that we live in a third floor apartment and it's December, aka the ideal time and place for teaching a dog to pee outside. There's also the finances. Dogs are expensive. I always knew that but it's different when you actually have to pay the bills. So driving back home on Thursday night, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel meeting her.

When I opened the door, none of what bothered me mattered. I was greeted by Sophie who seemed incredibly excited to meet me. This is easily one of the happiest times of my life. Alex found us a really cool dog. I've had some incredible dogs before but Sophie is easily one of the best.Is everything about her perfect? No. I found that out my first night home when I got to take her to the bathroom at 1:30am. This process was made even more enjoyable by the fact that she's somewhat scared of going down the stairs. Getting her from our apartment to the grass is like a ten minute process. But having her in my life is so much fun. She makes me so happy. Going on our walks is always entertaining. She has a thing for leaves and wood chips. Maybe us getting a dog wasn't the smartest idea, but in the short time she's been in our lives, she's brought a great deal of happiness.

And seriously. LOOK AT HER!