by Marcie Kissko

Bubbles chose me. I didn’t choose her. I was looking at Classic Canines’ Instagram in December 2018, and I saw a picture of her, a ten-year-old rat terrier mix, wearing a Christmas sweater, with those huge eyes and that joyful smile. Immediately, it was game over. We met Bubbles at a Classic Canines adoption event, and when we took her and my then-boyfriend's dog, Iroh, out for a meet-and-greet a few days later, we all knew it was meant to be.

I never had any pets growing up, and my first few days of pup parenting were a little scary. Right after I got her, I took her to the park, and I bonked her head on the door getting out of the car. When we got home that night, she managed to find an old chocolate chip in a crevice on the floor. I was convinced I was going to kill this poor dog on the first day I got her. But we figured each other out and got our routines in place pretty quickly, and now she is always by my side.

Basically everything Bubbles does brings me joy. When I walk her in the morning, she tries to sprint when we get close to the house because she knows she is going to get her breakfast. She doesn’t like it when I’m on my phone or laptop, and she’ll just wiggle her way into my face or under my hands so I have to pet her. I love when she is sitting up and gets really sleepy, and her eyes start to close and her head gets droopy. I could just watch her do that forever. I think she’s helped me slow down a bit in my day-to-day. Now I might leave for work a few minutes late so I can sit with her and pet her. I just feel so grateful that I found her.