It is coming up on 15 years since I met my hubby this fall.  He was a travelling from England, looking to go around the world and enjoying his first stop in Vancouver.

And then he met me.

A tall, skinny, “older woman” with a tiny Vancouver rental, and two dogs. I reeked of responsibility. I had a great job, a car and “real” furniture.

He had two pairs of underwear and a well used towel.

I think it was true love.
He says it was the dogs.

He had left a dog at home when he started travelling, and had the same sort of “respect” for them as I did.  And seeing him throw himself into these pooches life was akin to a single mom suddenly having a loving dad for her kids.

We hiked with those dogs, and spent hours talking on the trails around the lower mainland.  On our first camping trip, after my spaniel rolled in something “very” dead on the beach, he scrubbed that dog down with cold water and bath bubbles and then spent the night saying the smell wasn’t “that” bad as we snuggled the cold, wet (and yes, still stinky) beast in our sleeping bag.

He committed to the whole package, and that sold me entirely.

Fifteen years later and he still hasn’t done his round the world trip, although I am thinking he is pretty happy with the life he is in.  We said goodbye to our two dogs, the ones that helped me woo him over, many years ago and since then have continued having dogs in our family.  We continue to treat our pets as a member of our family, feeding them only the best, and loving them passionately.

To see his ability to nurture a dog gave me complete confidence in how he would nurture our children.  It showed me he could be responsible, loving and reliable.  It helped me fall in love with him, and it helped him fall in love with me.

I am not sure if we would have fallen in love quite so deeply if I hadn’t had those two dogs with me, in our small city apartment.  I think that all of those things together created the perfect storm for him to fall into.

And I am eternally grateful for that.

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