Two Years

Two years ago today, a pitbull changed my life forever.

It was June 12, 2010, my mom, Dalton (my brother) and I packed the car with blankets, toys and a leash with anticipation. The day had finally arrived for us to add another member to our family.

Dalton and I began dropping hints and pulling at our parents' (mostly Mom's) heart strings about getting another dog back in March. It had almost been a year since we lost our beloved beagle, Jess at the strapping young age of 15 and our black lab, Midnight was still looking for her at least once a week. He needed another friend to play with.

It didn't take much to convince our parents and soon we were on Petfinder.com looking at all the dogs available for adoption in the area. We weren't too picky, the only things we required were spayed female, on the younger side and get along well with other dogs. There were quite a few contenders out there, but we finally agreed on two from the same animal shelter.

Dalton and Mom were set on a brindle colored, Heinz-57 that had a lot of energy. All the way to the shelter Mom and Dalton talked about how her and Mid would get along and her beautiful brindle coloring. I on the other hand had another dog in mind.

Tempest was a one year old, shy, "dumbo eared" pitbull and as soon as we met her, she stole our hearts. She is exactly what I had in mind, a calm-spirited dog (even though she has her crazy "tuck the butt" moments where she bounces off the walls) that would help mellow out our rambunctious lab. Plus she's our "snuggle bug," something we were not use to having.

She is my "shotgun girl," always ready and willing to hop up in the passenger seat to keep me company. And when she doesn't get to go with she will be watching out the window until you get back home