My husband promised I could have a dog if we got a house with a yard, so we found one ASAP! Before the final box was unpacked, I took him to HSHV and was surprised by the Love Train. He and I split up and he told me multiple times that he wasn’t sure, had never had a dog before, etc.

He eventually found me playing with a very shy and overwhelmed pupper named Jade. He stepped into the playpen with us and she lit up, snuggling right into him and letting us play with her. I was ready to look at a few more, but he stopped me and said, no, this is it, she’s our dog. He insisted, and I paid the fee and they got her ready to go – he didn’t want to leave her for one second.

We got into the car and I picked out a name for her, Athena, but again he told me nope she looks like a Lainey. Let’s please call her Lainey! We have been wrapped around her wonky claw ever since. She is smart, sweet, and so patient. She has very high-end treats that her daddy now insists on, sleeps everywhere including her “cave” (her crate with an ergonomic pad her dad bought her). In our larger family she is a princess grandpuppy and is treated to bonfire dances (she loves to dance) and homemade treats.

I even changed jobs to work from home to be with her more! My supervisor deputized her to be my supervisor in their place, but she usually falls asleep on the job and encourages me to take too many breaks! She has a large yard with a fence where she says hi to her friends Tilly and Scooter and is absolutely terrible at running off squirrels from my garden. We have tried very hard to teach her that barking does not make people come and play with her more, however, the neighborhood kids have taught her the opposite and often come to pet her and play with the 200 tennis balls that we got her as a Christmas present. She goes on all kinds of road trips, to Indiana, upper Michigan, Frankenmuth, cider mills, Saginaw and even Wisconsin! She even goes with me to get my hair done as the hairdresser loves Lainey to pieces, and will always schedule me last in the day to have Lainey come and supervise.

All in all, an unsure trip to HSHV resulted in now the best year and a half of these humans’ lives.

Jade now Lainey