This month, as we celebrate the unconditional love and companionship that rescue animals bring into our lives, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible joy that comes with opening your heart to a shelter pet. In honor of National Pet Month and National Rescue Dog Day, this editor’s note is lovingly dedicated to our beloved Willoughby, who just recently crossed the rainbow bridge. His spirit, loyalty, and charm will always be a part of our family’s story. What follows is a tribute to the rescue dogs who have filled our home with laughter, love, and unforgettable memories.

Her name was Sunshine. The only yellow lab in a litter of all black labs. I use the term ‘lab’ loosely. She was a mix of many things, but she looked like a lab. We found her on Petfinder.com and we all hopped in the car to drive to Alabama to meet her. Randy said, ‘We are just going to meet her. She may not be the right one so don’t get your hopes up.’ Always the practical one. But, fun fact, he always caves first.

She was four months old, skinny and scared, but she was perfect. We put her in the car and headed home. All the while, Nathaniel was petting her and kept asking what we wanted to name her. It took us a while to come up with the perfect name for what we considered our perfect girl.

Allie. We all agreed on that one when we first heard it. Of course she became Als, then Allie Gator, then just Gator, then Gator Girl…you know how it goes. She and Nathaniel wore matching Halloween costumes every year. She was so fast and could leap through the air and she was just the best.

We lost our cat Bill when Allie was about seven and so we thought, she needed a friend. She seemed sad. So, we went looking. Same drill. No high hopes, but this time, Randy spotted him at a PetSmart adoption day in Ellijay. This adorable brown and white long-haired sweetheart. We had never seen a long-haired chihuahua before, so we weren’t sure what he was. Papillion? King Charles? Who knew? First, he was Barksdale (we had been watching a lot of The Wire) …but then we found the perfect name.

Willoughby.

And so it goes, our latest being a Golden Retriever from the amazing Adopt a Golden organization in Atlanta, from Turkey no less. He was Opie, now he’s our Casey. And he and Wills (yes, that’s our latest abbreviation. There are too many for him to even list!) are best friends.

We are so grateful to everyone who has helped our dogs along the way, and we are honored to be their forever home. Please consider a shelter dog if you are looking for a pet. They are truly amazing companions for life. We couldn’t be more in love with all of them. And Als? She passed at 16, peacefully with all of us, even Wills, surrounding her. They broke the mold with her. We miss her every day.