Han Solo was my Lovey Boy. I adopted him from Austin Pets Alive! in November of 2014. Han, a pittie formerly named Neville, was the second dog I met that day. He’d been at APA! ten months, and there was just something about his face and ears that stole my heart. His energy was higher than I was looking for, but I knew he was the one. I ran home to get my other two dogs to see how they’d get along. Famously. I took Han home that day, and it took him just about a week to completely adjust to our home life.

Han was in the Canine Good Citizen training program at Austin Pets Alive! when I adopted him. I took him back in spring to complete the training, and he became APA!’s first CGC certified pup! I was so proud.

In fall of 2016, I adopted another APA! pup, an American Staffordshire terrier named Gambit Allen. Gambit (formerly Pineapple) had been left at Austin Animal Center in a box with six other puppies. Once they’d had their tests and their first round of shots, APA! swept in to help get them adopted out. I brought Gambit home his first day at APA!, and he and Han were buds from the start. The only time they weren't cuddling each other was when they were both trying to cuddle me. They were best friends for the rest of Han’s life.

When Han got sick, I was distraught. I maxed out my budget trying to diagnose and treat him, but in the end, he was miserable. He'd stopped eating, couldn't keep down his meds, and could hardly walk. It was time to let him go. My heart still feels a little empty without him. He was my love, my prince, my pony boy. Han was the absolute sweetest. I know I’m not supposed to have favorites, but he was it. He was only six when he died—I only got to love and spoil him for four and a half years—and I feel time was stolen from us.

I still miss Han terribly, but Gambit has brought me such joy and solace. The pup who was small enough to sleep on my shoulder when I first brought him home is now almost fifty-five pounds of love.

Gambit is my social butterfly. We spend our weekends out and about. We go to breweries and dog events, and he loves other pups, so he loves going to puppy daycare at D Pet Hotel. Gambit works hard (especially for food), and he's in training for the CGC test so he can become a therapy dog like Han. We want to join Divine Canines, too, so we can read to kids. All this to show that pitties are the best and help put an end to the stigma against bully breeds.

Adopting dogs has brought such happiness to my life. I have PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and my dogs have been an extreme help. They ground me and bring me back to reality when I start losing control. My dogs are my biggest comfort. Rescuing a dog is so much more than just giving another life a home; it's taking a chance and saving a life, and my dogs saved me just as much as I saved them.