When I decided to adopt a dog, I was at a point where I had chosen to pursue a more responsible way of life, and I'd stopped running with a crew I had known for years. I was isolated and lonely and needed a companion.

I love hiking, so I wanted to find an athletic dog, and when I saw Iroh (then called Yaboo) on the New Mexico Friends of Animals website, I knew he'd be a perfect adventure buddy. I could tell he was a good mountain dog—athletic and well built with a lot of muscle.

Iroh's foster family didn't know much about his background except that he'd been neglected and left in his former owner's backyard with no food and water. As a result, he was a little untamed when I first met him. But after one visit and a very wild walk, I drove home with Iroh, a kennel, and a bag of food and never looked back.

For the first week, Iroh and I went on walk after walk, getting to know each other and working to break some bad leash habits. We quickly became very good together, and I remember the first night he slept on my legs, exhausted. I knew it was meant to be. But that doesn't mean there weren't challenges. I found out that I could not leave Iroh in the backyard with his custom-built, insulated dog house while I was gone. Any time I did, he would decide to take himself for walks. You couldn't stop the guy—he was too athletic. One time, I found him on top of a ten-foot wall in our backyard, which I later found out he got to by climbing a five-foot wall next to it and pulling himself up like a maniac.

But still, he has always been a good boy. Now, at nine, he is just an older good boy.

I take the responsibility of having a dog very seriously. There are characteristics about myself that I have had to look at in the mirror while acting as fur parent. Anger, patience, and acceptance are all things that I have had to work on while taking care of Iroh, and I wouldn't have it any other way. You don't quite understand the term "Man's Best Friend" until it happens to you.