Smells Like Love

Facebook is usually the place for relationship updates and connecting with friends whom we haven't seen in years, but in May of 2013 it was Facebook that introduced me to my best friend. Not a friend that I had met in school or at an old job, but a furry friend who needed a home.

When a friend from high school, who had recently begun volunteering at a veterinary clinic, posted photos on Facebook of a group of puppies that were abandoned at her workplace, my heart instantly melted. In the middle of the night someone had left a cardboard box on the doorstep of the vet clinic. Within that box were five puppies with coats of black and white and very long strands of fur. It was estimated that they were only a few weeks old and needed to be nurtured at the clinic before being adopted. One of the puppies, in particular, was the runt of the litter and needed extra attention due to her small size. She was the one that caught my attention the most. The fur around one eye was black, the other white, and in the center of her face the black fur that framed her nose was in the shape of a heart. It didn't take long for me to realize that I needed to contact my friend to inquire about their adoption process. She informed me that I could go visit the puppies as early as the next day. That was all that I needed as confirmation that I was meant to visit these puppies that had stolen my heart with a single photograph.

The next day, I went to the clinic and found that all of the puppies had already been claimed, all except one. They handed me the one unclaimed puppy and I instantly recognized her from the photograph, the one with the heart shaped nose. I held her for a few moments and declared that I had every intention of giving her a home. I left feeling overjoyed for this new adventure of puppy parenthood.

The following afternoon I received a phone call from the vet clinic that there had been a mix up and the puppy that I planned on adopting had already been claimed. My heart sunk as the words spilled out of the phone. I tried to accept this news and move on. Perhaps there was another dog that I could feel an instant connection with and adopt, just as I had connected with the puppy. But the more I looked into other adoptions the more defeated that I had felt. Luckily, only a few days later, I received the most exciting phone call of all. The family who had claimed the puppy backed out and she was officially mine! The next morning I picked her up and have never looked back.

My family and I named her Melody, because of the song "Making Melody in my Heart", which we felt was highly appropriate, not only because of her heart-shaped nose, but because our hearts were filled the moment we brought her into our home. As time went on we did some research and believe that Melody is a Shih-Tzu and Terrier mix. Whatever kind of dog she is, she certainly loves attention. She is often in my lap as I work or laying tucked into my side as we sleep. As I type this, she is laying at my feet, waiting for our nightly game of fetch before winding down for the evening. She has bursts of energy that make her great fun for my many nephews who love coming over and playing with her. She is energetic, but gentle. She knows exactly when to play and when to rest.

Melody turned 7 this month and my heart has been full every single day that I have spent with her. The fur around her nose has grown long and no longer resembles a heart in the way that it once did, but that does not change the lasting impact that she has made on my own heart.