then there was Rico

You never know when or how that new friend is going to find his way into your life.

Lost only in the sense of being one of many beauties, but needing a home nonetheless, our paths crossed over Thanksgiving. He chased Doxy around his enormous Corgi-filled yard; she sniffed the edges and ignored him. Inside, he somehow hopped onto the couch where I was sitting, cuddled up next to me and put his chin on my leg. We all settled in the calm of the dogs. Done.

On the ride home, this little dog was like a drug to me. I was calm, we were all happy. What could Doxy do when Rico walked over to her side of the backseat and nestled against her?

Adding a dog to your life is everything at once: Exhilarating and terrifying, renewing and upsetting. In no time, of course, if it’s a good fit, nothing is better than living in a pack, where life settles down along a new pattern of paw prints, wrapped around your own.