The first time I met Penny, a pudgy, 2-year-old Beagle mix whose family no longer wanted her, I was a lonely 26-year-old living in the cold northwoods of rural Wisconsin, and she HUGGED me. She jumped up on my lap, put her front legs around my neck and pressed up her body against mine. I’d never met a dog who…

I adopted Sashi from the Providence Animal Rescue League when I was in college. She was more like a person than a dog. She would look at you intently when you were talking and really seemed to understand what you were saying. We had a lot of adventures together and she was a great judge of character. She was very…

When I adopted my Boxer–Lab mix, Luckie Boy, eight years ago, I had no idea the kind of true love that I would be given. I quickly found out how tossing a ball and running in the park with my new furry friend could be the best time spent. A few months ago, Luckie developed a bone tumor in his…