Don't tell my boyfriend that I've fallen in love with the guy next door.

Okay, so maybe he isn't really a "guy"; he's a BIG beautiful black lab named Doc.
He kind of looks like this:

My boyfriend and I were out in the back yard doing some gardening. Now I had seen Doc from afar but I never actually met him until today. We were by the fence and Doc ran over and started barking. He's kind of big so before I stuck my arm over the fence I asked our neighbor if his dog was friendly.

I got a "Yes" from the neighbor and before I could pet him, Doc was standing with his paws on top of the fence and staring into my eyes. It was instant love, Doc was wagging his tail and I was petting him telling him how wonderful he was. Somehow Doc had slobber on the top of his head and my arm was covered with it. We were sharing a special moment when who comes up behind me but the pesky boyfriend to remind me that we had leaves to take care of.......

So, I sadly said goodbye to my new friend on the other side of the fence. I dragged the rakes out to the front lawn to finish the leaves.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Doc in the back yard. He looks up and spots me too. He leaves his owner and comes down along the fence, wagging his tail the entire time. He's watching me the whole time, he comes around the fence and right over to me. Then he sits right down and gives me his paw. That was it, I completely melted. We spent about 20 minutes together, he wouldn't leave my side.

Again, here comes the aforementioned boyfriend telling me that I was going to get the dog in trouble for leaving his property. Trouble! Boy if he knew what was going on in my head. I had a very quick thought about kidnapping Doc and hiding him in our house. But then I realized it would be hard to hide this giant lovable dog from his real family next door. ( Sometimes I have these crazy little fantasies- don't worry I haven't acted on any of them YET.)

But my little love affair with Doc made me realize even more that I need to have another dog in my life. We had to have our Beloved dog Princess put down in August because of a brain tumor. It was quite devastating as anyone who has loved an animal knows. She was like our child. And I understand that my boyfriend hasn't grieved enough over her loss. He doesn't ever want to go through that terrible pain again. I know it very well, I've experienced it with 6 dogs and many other pets.

But I know that in time we will rescue another dog. It may take a while for me to convince him. But everyone who knows me, knows how persistent I can be. Until then I'll be waiting outside for my friend Doc.