People meet in all sorts of ways, but these couples have their pets to thank for their love connection! These stories of love, and how pets can bring people together, will truly warm your heart:
Dog Portrait
Dawn Maslar and her partner Ed Biggie of Davie, Florida have been together for nine years — all because of Ed’s dog. Ed was out with his dog chatting with Dawn’s friend’s husband, so she stopped to join in the conversation. At the time, Dawn was painting pet portraits, so she gave Ed her card. “Well, he was interested — not in the painting, but in me! We started dating and then we decided to move in,” says Dawn.
Coffee Shop Love
Pet lovers Abbie and Rick Rockwell of Mill Valley, California will celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary in December with their two young daughters, all thanks to two Shih Tzu puppies. Abbie was trying out dog ownership for the weekend and had stopped at a coffee shop. A man was sitting alone drinking tea and admired the puppies, so they started to chat.
“I continued to download a list of all my fears of having the dogs to this guy I’d never met before,” says Abbie. The man, Rick, said to Abbie, “It will be the best thing you ever do, keep them. They will change your life.” She kept the dogs and he was right. Turns out he had two Shih Tzu dogs himself! They ended up good friends and had tea almost every morning for eight months straight until Rick asked Abbie to dinner.
Goats Play Cupid
Kelly Hogan’s family raised pet dairy goats. When she was only 15, a neighbor petitioned the town to force the family to get rid of the goats, so Kelly had to speak at a town meeting about why she should keep them. “Embarrassingly enough, I ran out of the meeting in tears when I finished my speech,” she says. After the meeting, Dan found Kelly sitting on the hood of her mom’s car crying and said, “I hope you get to keep your pets.”
They chatted a bit, took a walk, and exchanged phone numbers. “I left a voice mail for him two days later. He called me back and came over that night, and every single night after that for the next several months. I absolutely would not have met him without the goats,” she says. Dan and Kelly Hogan now live in West Long Branch, New Jersey, have been together for 24 years, and have two children.
Love at the Door
When Danielle Agabedis of Sudbury, Massachusetts was single, she had a Schipperke dog named Chelsea whom she would walk along a very specific route. One day, a man named Jim was planting flowers when Danielle walked by with Chelsea, who ran and jumped up on him. Danielle apologized and pulled her back. She says, “He seemed a little annoyed and grumpy that afternoon.
He’s a landscaper and had worked a long day and was tired.” Not a huge pet lover, Jim was busy establishing his company so he had no social life. His mother told him repeatedly that if he was ever going to get married, the girl would have to come right to the front door … and she did! Jim started working for Danielle and eventually, he asked her to dinner. Today they celebrate 19 years of marriage, all thanks to Chelsea!
Car Lot Love
Dr. Dave Popple used to visit a large car lot after hours to let his Pomeranian dog Maxx run around while Dave checked out the cars. He mentioned this to a fellow student named Jody who lived nearby and she started joining him. “Maxx would be gone for 10 to 15 minutes and then run back to find me. This created an interesting rhythm for me and Jody to focus on getting to know each other,” Dave says.
Four years later the car business closed and the lot was empty with weeds. Dave and Jody returned there for a walk. Dave says, “I secretly attached a wedding ring to Maxx’s collar and let him run. After reminiscing about the old days of walking around the lot, I asked her to marry me. Maxx ran up to us at that moment with the ring in his collar and she said yes.” They’ve been married for 14 years.
Looking for ways to introduce your dog to others (and maybe help him find love himself)? Follow these 11 Tips on How to Introduce Dogs to New People and Other Dogs. Did you meet your partner through your pet? If so, share in the comments!
Laura Richards is a Boston-based freelance writer and the mother of four boys including a set of identical twins and is also mom to three rescue pets: Scarlett, a 7-year-old beagle, and Edith and Ollie, 15-year-old identical twin black cats. She has written for numerous parenting publications and is the president of On Point Communications.
