I wasn’t a dog person. I know, seems laughable now. When Conner brought Dutch into my life, I became a dog mom and he transformed me. Then a few months later, we got our Remi. He was the craziest puppy ever. He tested every last ounce of my patience and I was in tears regularly trying to figure out how to be his mama. But he expanded me in ways I never thought possible and raising my first puppy with Conner was one of the most important lessons of our lives. Then we lost him in an accident 9 months later and it turned us upside down. I realized Remi was my little angel who came to teach me how to play and love. 4 days after he died, we got a call that his little brother was available because his family no longer wanted him. So Conner drove to pick up what we like to refer to Theo as our “grief puppy.” We were a mess and it felt like Remi had sent us immediate help. We became puppy parents again overnight, cleaning diarrhea out of crates and trading off nights and mornings for potty training and snuggles. Theo took us through the most trying time of our lives. A month ago, we heard about some puppies who needed saving via @underdogsrescueco and my heart just felt like we needed to step in to foster. We’ve had Charlie and Ryder in our home this last month, finding Charlie her forever home with her amazing mama @katysaltsman and today I say goodbye to my sweet Ryder girl as she joins her forever family. I’ve been crying for days. Ryder imprinted deeply on my heart. Having girl energy in the house and bonding with her has once again expanded me in ways I didn’t expect. It feels like she came to me to get me ready for motherhood. I’m exhausted from potty training, constant running around and managing life with a tiny nugget. And I’m also more fully settled into being a mama, relishing in the 5am sunsets with eyes barely open, the sweet kisses, the feel of another heartbeat on my chest and the knowing that I get to show up in love, always. I will miss her so much, it hurts. But getting to foster and love her has been another one of the greatest gifts of my life. I love you my Ryder and I can’t wait to see you thrive little girl 🤍