Before Abbie

After I graduated from college, I moved to Tennessee to work in a mobile tack shop on the A show hunter/jumper circuit. 

During the interview process, my future boss asked if I had a dog. I paused for a moment, thinking longingly of Sally, living her life in my parents' backyard in California. 

Then I sighed and said, "No. I don't have a dog."

As it turned out, I was just about the only person who could make that claim. 

Mary's Stella

The show circuit is absolutely teeming with dogs.

Diana with Gizmo and Penny

My friends had them.

Leigh's Julie, with Scout in the background

My co-workers had them.

Ron's Elmo

My bosses had three, all of whom traveled with us to every show. 

They were Mardi Gras and Holiday, a mother-and-daughter pair of Boxers.

Mardi, the mom, was smaller, smarter and a lot more intense.

Her daugther, Holiday, was big and goofy, the kind of dog who'd never met a stranger.

The third dog was a Pekingese named Oreo. 

Oreo was not a friendly dog.

It took a while for me to make onto her love list, but once I was there, she and I were tight.

None of these dogs were my dogs, but they were all very good dogs.

Collectively, they filled the dog shaped hole in my heart.

I definitely wanted a dog of my own, but I was doing okay. At least I was until a scruffy, little dog named Max trotted into my life.

I was working a show in Dalton, Georgia when Max just kind of appeared. He walked up the steps of the mobile shop, lay down in front of the saddles and made himself at home. I kept waiting for someone to come in and claim him, but that never happened. He stayed with us all day and was there when we arrived the next morning.

I asked around and learned he was a stray who'd been hanging around the showgrounds for a couple months. The people who worked there called him Max. 

"He's a nice dog," they told me. "You should take him home."

I really wanted to, but unfortunately, I didn't have a home I could take him to.

At the time, I was renting a room in a big, fancy Germantown house with a pool in the backyard.

Dogs were absolutely not allowed.

I thought about taking him anyway, but before I blew up my life, I decided to see if I could find him another home. I was successful, and after the show, Max and I parted ways.

Although short, our time together was extremely impactful. I knew eventually there would be another dog, and when that happened, I wanted to be ready. To that end, I moved out of the fancy house and into an apartment.

A dog-friendly apartment with lots of outdoor space.

I was ready, but also, not in a hurry. I figured the right dog would find me. So I waited. 

Julia's Mitzi

I waited and waited.

Faith's Cory

While I was waiting, I went to a lot of horse shows. After a particularly long stretch of out-of-state events, I straggled into Memphis late one Sunday night. I was completely exhausted and planned to spend the entire next day catching up on my sleep. Instead, I was awoken by an early morning phone call from my roommate. 

I was annoyed and let the answering machine pick up, but Debbie was determined. She called again and again. Finally, I got out of bed and picked up the phone.

"What?" I growled into the receiver.

"You need to come down here," she said urgently. "I've found the perfect dog for you."