About eight years ago, this weird little dog with an overbite that made her look like Homer Simpson's boss, Mr. Burns, came into our lives and stole our hearts. She had been living on the streets and had recently had a litter of puppies. A friend was fostering her, but she was having trouble as June was prone to chasing the fosters' cats. The friend was going out of town for a weekend, and we agreed to watch June while she was gone.

We quickly discovered that this strange, scared little dog was actually very sweet. She just needed someone to go slow with her. Now, after just a few minutes of sitting quietly on the couch, she will crawl into just about anybody's lap. And when she's really comfortable, she will start "peopling." That's when she spins around, leans back against you, and sits like a person on the couch. She'll look up at you with those big, brown eyes and wag her tail, and it just melts your heart.

June insists on sleeping under the covers, usually burrowing down by our knees or feet. But before burrowing down for the night, our little talker will lie between us and make weird little grunting and squeaking sounds. June may be the smallest family member, but she's definitely the one in charge. She gets along well with the other dogs and mostly tolerates the cat. She's now an independent, confident little dog who has made huge strides since coming to live with us all those years ago. June, a.k.a. Tarantula, is weird and sweet as all get-out, and we wouldn't trade her for the world.