Most people know that we met at the Rib Mountain Dog Park in the summer of 2022, but there is much more to the story than simply showing up in the same place at the right time!

I got Ochai at the start of April 2022 and a large reason I decided to get a golden retriever is because I thought it would be the perfect dog to take to the dog park in town! At the time I joked with people that Ochai was going to go help me find a girlfriend and also find a mom for herself. Ochai was only about six months when I started to go to the dog park. This is a notable piece to the story because Ochai was often pretty intimidated by the bigger dogs and wanted to run away. Jessa on the other hand went to the dog park because Bailee still had insane black lab energy. So, she went most days to play fetch with Bailee. Jessa is also quite the bookworm, so she mostly sat on the bench reading when she wasn't throwing Bailee's ball.

On my first day taking Ochai to the park I was pretty nervous, but she was in heaven. Eventually some bigger dogs started to overwhelm her and she searched for an escape. Well, that escape was the cute blonde girl sitting on the bench reading a book. With no hesitation Ochai launched off the ground into Jessa's lap. Which of course Jessa loved because who doesn't love a golden puppy jumping into their lap? At that moment I realized Ochai was definitely going to find a mom at the dog park. As the weeks went on Ochai was almost always near Jessa in case she needed to retreat to the safety of Jessa's lap. Which gave me a free excuse to be by Jessa. I also figured if I could win over her dog that would give me some pretty good brownie points if I asked her out on a date. So, I brought a ton of treats with me and funneled them into Bailee's mouth so she would follow me around.

Eventually I stopped being a chicken and did ask Jessa out on a date. From there we couldn't get enough of each other and our dogs became best friends. We got engaged at the dog park where it all started. Like the first time we talked, it was in the pouring rain. If you look closely at Jessa's ring you will see on one side is the birthstone of Ochai and the other side features the birthstone of Bailee. We couldn't ask for better matchmakers and you will be sure to see them as a focal point of our wedding. As they were the foundation of us meeting, they will always be the foundation of our marriage going forward.