Our story is unique but very simple. Art and I were living in Mooresville North Carolina in apartments across the road from each other. Many of you know, I got a golden retriever puppy named Honey. She may have been the cutest puppy but she was a handful! No dogs came to play at my dog park, so I found my way to Art's. Honey enjoyed playing with the dogs there, but one dog really enjoyed just being next to me. That was Bluebear, an Australian Shepherd.

Honey and I started making the dog park our afternoon ritual. We hoped to see Bluebear, Rocket, and a few of our other furry friends. While sitting on the shaded bench next to Art with blue between us, I overheard Art speaking in Russian over the phone. I knew the accent was familiar, as I am Russian. This sparked a conversation about our Russian adoption stories. How crazy was it that we both were adopted from Russia?

During this time, things were very hard for me in life. I was at rock bottom, lost, and lonely. I think the most exciting parts of my day included the trip to the dog park. I looked forward to seeing Art. His presence felt safe even though he was so reserved. These dog park trips would turn into hour-long sessions till the sun went down. Art would give me advice that I was not always ready to hear, but needed to hear.

After some heartbreaking news, I picked up my phone and called Art. Within a half hour, he came to my apartment with pizza, Bluebear, and an open heart ready to listen. He became my safe friend. We started discovering Mooresville more, finding our favorite breakfast spot, exploring parks around Lake Norman, trips shopping, and more. I knew I was beginning to like this guy but there was fear.

One day I finally gave in and decided to pursue a relationship with Art. I was not sure if it was going to work, all I knew was that it felt different than any other relationship. Almost 2 and a half years later, we are still going strong. We have helped each other grow, moved in together, had major life changes, career changes, and additional furry friends join our family. To put it simply, I made the right choice and it wouldn't have happened without our pups. They are our entire world!

So a big thank you to Honey Bee and Bluebear, for giving me the man of my dreams.

- Tanya