When you moved in, we adopted you as family—you and your two dogs, Curious and Ollie. Together, with your help, we're slowly working on showing our three dogs that we all are a family and helping them get acquainted with your dogs. Our rescue dog, Scruffy, is the one I was most worried about and he still is skittish, but he did take a Goldfish cracker from you, though, which was amazing because he won't even take treats from the cashier at PetSmart, unlike Spike and Sugar.

That first Friday you were here, you came upstairs for dinner after some coaxing and then we played board games together. I honestly can't remember the last time my mom was this calm and happy. Having you move in began to look like the best decision Mom had ever made.

Then, on August third, you proved it was.

After our air conditioner was fixed, we began to smell gas. Mom was at work and it was just Grandma, me and the five dogs. I called Mom, already panicking because this isn't the same as the carbon monoxide false alarm that happened because of a bad alarm. This was the real deal.

After giving Mom the phone number for the gas company, I ran downstairs, got the leashes for our dogs and let your two out. They followed me to the backyard then I went inside, put the leashes on our dogs, and convinced Grandma to go sit outside while we waited for the gas company. A few chaotic moments later, you were here with the guy from the gas company and you were able to handle everything from there while I calmed down.

I don’t handle stressful situations well. I can manage, to an extent, such as when a flight is delayed, then canceled and we’re left stranded at the airport. This was not a situation I could handle. I didn’t know what the guy was talking about, I barely knew the phone number for the air conditioning people, and my energy was focused primarily on not breaking down in tears from the sheer panic and overwhelming feeling of knowing I can’t deal. Later, while waiting for the gas company repair guy to show up, you confessed you can’t handle stressful situations, but I’ve got to admit you’re a lot better at acting like you can than I am.

You handled everything, opened windows to air out the house, made sure everything gas was turned off and cautioned us against turning on any lights until the house aired out. You came home as soon as Mom called you and told you about the leak and you stayed to help me talk to the repair men when they showed up. You have no idea how much it means to me—to all of us—that you were here today.

Thank you for surprising us on random days with flowers, for the fresh tomatoes and the strawberry swirl ice cream, for the Gatorade and great conversation. But most of all, thank you for moving in.