It was just after ringing in the 2014 New Year and a huge blizzard was on its way. As I opened the door to the puppy room at North Shore Animal League I was surprised. There were only two puppies left after the Christmas rush. T88840 was an adorable, 13 pound, female, black and white Pointer mix. She ran around the pen with excitement to be out of the cage, and then fell sedately in my arms when I picked her up, I was in love. T88840 became Sawyer, and although not the brown, longhaired, male puppy I had pictured, she was perfect. Fast forward 8 months. Sawyer is now a 10-month-old, 52lb, incredible dog. She has been in training since March and is excelling with plans to take the TDI Therapy Dog test next month. She shines as the rock star in all of her group training classes and I couldn’t be more proud. Outside of class (and sometimes during), Sawyer is extremely quirky and fun. She brings so much joy and love to our lives and we couldn’t be happier together.