Rob and Roxie Celebrate One Year Together!

As I've written about a few times over the past 365 days, one year ago today I made the incredible decision to let a dog into my home and life!  Every Thursday, Lindsey from the Warrick Humane Society comes on to the morning show to introduce us to another adoptable pet.  But 52 weeks ago, when she handed me the 8-week old husky puppy mix then known as "Precious," I simply couldn't let her go.

I wasn't planning on bringing a puppy home that day, and really wasn't even looking for another dog for my home.  We already had one amazing dog, Leila the lovely Maltese, but something about the way this little puppy looked up at me and clung to me...  I just couldn't give her back to Lindsey to go back to the humane society.

Over the last year, while of course there have been frustrations which come along with letting someone into your home and raising a puppy, I have bonded with this animal in ways I didn't even know were possible.  My girlfriend Brittany and I renamed her Roxie.  She's grown TWICE as big as she was expected to (she's about 30 lbs now!).  She can be a clumsy oaf and a real pain in the butt for her sister, but we simply can't imagine our household without the joy brought to us by watching this beautiful creature grow from a 1.9-lbs puppy into a 30-lbs sweetheart.

If you're thinking of adopting a dog, you should definitely do it!  I recommend rescuing as opposed to shopping, and the best place in my opinion is the Warrick Humane Society.  They're about a mile past Castle High School in Newburgh on Vann Rd., and they've always got a large selection of dogs and cats to choose from!

Also, for your viewing pleasure, I have included some adorable pictures of Roxie as a puppy and growing up below!

(All photos: Rob Hirschbuhl/Brittany Dart)