Abby

Tony and I had been married just a few short months when a serious bout of insomnia hit me full force. I spent several nights tossing and turning unable to sleep and after the third or fourth night, I decided to get up and watch a bit of TV.

After not being able to find anything, I turned to the On Demand Channel and found that there was a channel to watch little video clips of cats and dogs available for adoption. I spent about an hour watching clip after clip and I was a goner.

The next morning I announced to Tony that I thought it was time to start looking for a dog. We had decided to wait a few short months to start a family, but thought we'd speed up the process by starting with a dog.

I think we visited every animal shelter in the Salt Lake area and while Tony connected with several dogs, I was waiting for that "moment". I just knew that I would know the right dog when I saw it. But after looking at dozens and dozens of dogs, I was about to give in to a big black lab. But then we decided to head back to one of the other shelters to take another look. And that is when I saw Abby.

I actually didn't pay much attention to her because she looked so scared and lonely and sad sitting in doggy prison (as Tony calls it). But she kept catching my eye. Finally, I said, what about this one?

We asked for a visit and then sat in a windowless brick room waiting for them to bring Abby in. She came in and sprinted for the only cover she could find - the one chair - and dove under it. Tony is a bit of an animal whisperer and he couldn't even coax her out.

It was pretty clear she had been abused, but we were sold.

A few days later (they had to give her all her shots, etc), we went to pick her up and bring her home. And ever since then, she's been a true joy in our lives. She and Tony go running in the mountains everyday and she is the perfect running partner for Tony.

She follows me around the house, sleeps at my feet while I work and watches for any chance of affection I might offer her.

And Ryan? She patiently sits while Ryan grabs at her fur, pulls her tail and tugs at her ears. They are great entertainment to each other already. And Ryan doesn't even realize that she is going to be one of the best friends he'll ever have.