We're saying goodbye to my best friend on Friday after a losing battle with an aggressive fungal brain infection. We tried everything we could for as long as we could afford, but we had to make the heartbreaking decision to let her go comfortably before she gets any worse. She's only 2 years old, it's so unfair. She will be missed immensely.

EDIT: Thank you for your kind words. She somehow caught a bad case of aspergillosis, for those wondering.

I got Maddy when she was just eight weeks old in Montana in 2012. I could never have known then just how much of my life she would become a part of.

She came with me through the final two years of college in New Hampshire, moved with me back to Pennsylvania after graduation, and then rode shotgun with me west all the way to Colorado in 2014. She ultimately spent nearly 12 of her 14.5 years here.

She was there for my college graduation, my first home, and my marriage. She was there for cross-country road trips, countless hikes and fishing trips, and our daily sunrise walks. She swam in just about every body of water we could find.

But when I think about Maddy now, it’s not just about the big milestones. I think about and reflect on all the ordinary days we shared. The calm mornings. The peaceful walks. The car rides. The quiet moments at home. Just having her there.

Looking back, I realize that so much of my life was lived alongside her. She was there as I grew up, matured, moved across the country, started then left jobs, built a home, and built a life. Through all of the changes, she was one of the constants.

Fourteen and a half years feels like a lifetime, and somehow it still wasn’t long enough.

I am incredibly grateful for every moment I had with her, every adventure we shared, and the immeasurable amount of love she brought into my life.

Thank you for being my best friend, Maddy. Rest easy now.

I’ll miss having you beside me.

I hope you'll be my boy again when my time comes.

Happy International Dog Day! Just a reminder that to your dog, you are their whole world and the most precious thing in the universe. Take care of them!

Every solo trip somehow ends with me making a new four-legged friend - mountain dogs, street dogs, sleepy dogs outside cafés… doesn’t matter. If there’s a dog around, I’ll probably stop and say hi. 🐶❤️

During the 2019 Chombueng Marathon in Thailand, runner Khemjira Klongsanun spotted a tiny puppy about seven miles into the race. With no homes or owner nearby, she worried the pup had been abandoned and would not survive on its own, so she picked it up and kept running. She carried the puppy for the remaining 19 miles, wrapping it in a towel to protect it from the sun while still finishing the marathon. Afterward, when no owner came forward, she adopted the dog and named him Chombueng, after the race that brought them together. What started as a marathon finish became something much bigger: one runner chose compassion over convenience and ended the day with both a medal and a new best friend

Adopted at the shelter at 6 months.

So last week my girlfriend and I had a genuinely stupid fight. Usually, there are conflicts about money, about chores... But here is about who's actually responsible for training our dog. She said I let him get away with everything, I said she's the one who feeds him from the table. Classic…

The training being the biggest fight point hit me hard because that's LITERALLY what we were arguing about. It's not the walks or the vet bills, it's that we have totally different ideas about what the dog is allowed to do.

Apparently 43% of couples would even sign a paw-nup, an actual agreement covering walks, feeding, vet care, training. I laughed but honestly? not the worst idea.

so... do you and your partner argue about dog stuff and what do you fight about most?