My world changed on February 18, 2009. My future husband and I went on our first date at a local Starbucks. We chatted for hours about all sorts of topics and got along amazingly well. At the end of the night, he asked me if I was afraid of large dogs and if I wanted to meet his doberman (she was out in the car). He opened up the door to his white jeep and there was Pru. She had been sleeping, but she woke  up and I reached in to pet her. She surprised me by nuzzling her head in my hands and prompted me to pet her head with both hands. It was time for me to go home, so my future husband walked me to my car and gave me a kiss on the cheek. 

We had so much in common, and though I was always a "dog person", I wasn't as extreme as my husband. Pru went everywhere with him, including work. He shared every meal with her. She always slept in his bed with him.  He'd sing to her, inserting her name into songs that came on the radio.  All of these things were extremely foreign to me, but my husband's true love of dogs (and Pru) shone through.  

During our courtship, we spend a lot of time together with Pru.  Some of my favorite memories are of all 3 of us riding in the jeep, with the doors off and top down on warm summer nights. We'd go for long walks together at the beach near the house. 

If I spent the night, she would only want to sleep next to me and not between my husband and I. Pru had accepted me as part of her pack.  Any nights that we spent without her (on our honeymoon for example), we talked about her constantly. She was our baby, as we had no kids. 

Things started getting chaotic in our lives when my husband started declining, but his death was a true shock and very sudden. Pru had stopped following my husband around about a month prior to his death, and had instead latched onto me. It was like she knew that I was going to be the only person taking care of her. 

After my husband died, my grief was tremendous. There were many days that I could not get out of bed except to go to the bathroom. Pru never left my side during those dark times.  She would stay in bed, cuddled up next to me for as long as I needed. When I had nightmares, Pru would press her body against mine and calm me down. 

She gave me purpose, and a reason to keep going. I knew that I had to tend to her basic needs, even if I wasn't tending to my own.  Her goofy personality always cheered me up, and it was so important to me to have a little piece of my husband after he was gone. 

The waves of grief started becoming less severe, and I started feeling better. I tried to make it a point to go on 40-50 minute walks with Pru daily, to keep my spirits up and to bond with this amazing dog. Those daily walks only stopped in mid this year.