Archie came to me not knowing what it was liked to be loved. He was suspicious and aggressive and he wasn't even all that sure what dog food was. He was defensive to every hand that got near him, but over time, he started nudging his nose under my fingers and I realized that under all that grouch and fear was a little dog that desperately, desperately wanted to be loved. He had just never been given the chance. On the day I adopted him, I had to convince the shelter I actually wanted to keep him. I understood we would need to put in a lot of work, but enough people had already given up on him. When I came home after signing the papers, I promised Archie that no matter what happened, we would be together until the end, and it didn't matter how mean or how nasty he got because I was going to love him forever.

And then we started to heal.

Archie learned what treats were. He learned how to sit, stand, and "kangaroo". He learned that if he got cold in the middle of the night, he could wake me up to climb under the covers, and that no matter what happened, I would always, always come back for him. He picked out his favourite toys, wore a bow tie for the holidays, and even sniffed out which neighbours always had a biscuit waiting for him. He was terrified of thunder, but it turned out it wasn't so bad as long as mom slept on the floor of the closet with him.

Archie's story didn't start out as a happy one, but eight years full of lots of love and adventure later, we made sure the ending was better than the beginning.

I know my old man wasn't for everyone, but he was for me, and adopting him was one of the best things I ever did with my life. Even through all the vet visits, our battle with Cushing's disease, kidney disease, and even the removal of his gallbladder, I would still pick him every time because there is no love greater than the love of a rescue dog, particularly one who didn't know love in the first place.

Thank you to everyone at Loyal Family Veterinary for helping make Archie's story a good one, for helping us get all the extra time we could, and never, ever giving up on him.

In the end, our grumpy guy wasn't so grumpy and he even, dare I say it, turned out to be quite charming. He won the hearts of many, and he taught me to love someone more than I thought I ever possibly could. He was a good, good dog and his memory will live forever.

Rest well, little dog. If love alone could have kept you alive, you would have lived forever, but since life doesn't work that way, thank you for all the years. We will love you for always.