Valentine

One year ago this weekend, February 15, 2020, we brought Nutmeg home. I don't want to call it a ''gotcha'' day because she doesn't feel like a rescue. She feels like she was meant to be, and that she's belonged with us since forever.

She was just a year old at the time and she had been taken in by an angel who had the true selflessness to want what was best for the dog, and who handed her care over to us with trust and tears. Lila, you will always and forever be her mama too.

Just a short week or two after we brought Nutmeg home, a pandemic was declared, and we may never have had the possibility to bring her home. She has become a true member of the family, and she is stepping up as a sister and a best friend since we lost Soleil.

She is a mischievous, busy, funny, sweet character. If I had one word to describe her, it would be ''exuberant''. So even though I don't mark this as an anniversary per se, it's a moment to reflect with gratitude for special dogs and special people.

She'll always be our Valentine dog, in so many ways.