I had been living in Austin for about a year, and I wasn't sure I was ready for the responsibility of a dog yet. I was busy, and I was travelling a lot. I decided that volunteering at Austin Pets Alive! would be the next best thing, so I started walking dogs two or three times a week. Before I knew it, I was making mental notes of all the dogs I wanted to adopt, giving them extra time and treats when I was at APA!

Finally, I made up my mind and went talk to APA! about adopting one of my favorites. Unfortunately, since I lived in an apartment, none of my them—all older dogs—were a good fit. But a few days later I found Ellie (then named Jyn) on APA!’s website. She was in foster, so I set up a time to go see her. The second I saw the sweet little German shepherd/Labrador mix, I asked the foster family what I had to do to make sure no one got her before me!

As soon as I brought Ellie home, my prediction that she would take up all my time definitely came true. Only it wasn’t something negative, as I’d feared. It made me happy to fill up my time with Ellie, and my life only got better for it. I started going outside way more often, spending time at the dog park, and meeting all of my neighbors who also had dogs. Ellie is about three years old now, and all I can say is that bringing her home has easily been one of the best decisions of my life.