Four years ago this week, I brought this little squish face home. If you don't like super adorable black labs, look away now, because this post is all about Grover.

But first, a story. It's kind of long, but it's one of my favorites. In case you want to know more about Grover, you can find him on Erica Jacquline's blog too. He's a star.

In 2009, on a dark and stormy night (just because I could) my roommate in Alabama came in and said there was a big, black dog outside. She let him into the little stairwell area in front of our apartment so he would be out of the rain, but I figured we couldn't leave him there. He was friendly, but when you open a door and see a big, black dog you don't know looking at you, well, some people would not handle that well.

I brought him inside and dried him off. He didn't have a name tag, so he just sat with me while I figured out what to do. I called/texted/social media'd everyone in I knew in our neighborhood to see if anyone was missing a dog, or knew of him. He had a rabies tag, so I called the vet and left a message explaining that I had the dog, didn't know who he belonged to, but would keep him inside for the night in case anyone called looking for him. That vet was amazing, because he called back a few minutes later, pulled up the information on the dog and gave me the dog's name-Jack, his owner's number and address.

I called the owner, who was out with friends. He said he'd head home and that I could just leave Jack in the back yard.

Getting Jack back outside into the rain wasn't easy. Getting him into my car was harder. Getting him out of the car and into the rain when we got to his house was downright impossible. He wouldn't budge. So instead we sat in front of the house and waited for his owner. In a thunderstorm.

Apparently Jack is afraid of thunderstorms and has a tendency to escape when he gets scared.

But, I fell in love with that dog and decided that I wanted one of my own. A week or so later, I got an e-mail about a found golden puppy who needed a home. I called and said I'd take it, but never got a call back. I started poking around pet adoption sites in the area, but decided that it really wasn't practical for me to have a dog, so I shouldn't spend so much time looking for one. I really wanted a black lab since I'd had one as a kid and love them, but wasn't finding one that suited me. So I gave up the search.

Not too much later, my roommate was working on a project to save the Grover Hall house in town. Grover Hall was a Pulitzer winning journalist who had once worked at the Advertiser, the newspaper I worked for at the time in Alabama. The house was in danger of being torn down and Jill was trying to save it.

During that project, and other reporting, she met a local woman who works in historic preservation.

This woman found a black lab puppy at Old Alabama Town one day while this Grover Hall house project was happening and named him Grover. She told my roommate about the puppy and made up a flier about the dog. She kept him at her house, but told the local shelters she had him in case anyone came looking. No one did. My roommate came home one day and said, "I shouldn't do this, but here," and handed me the flier. Grover the puppy was the cutest little guy and I called the woman that night.

Within a few days, I had a puppy. He had a broken rib when I got him and was terrified of cars, trash cans and Halloween decorations, but we got the hang of things.

It makes sense that I would end up with a black lab named for a Pulitzer winning journalist (not the Seasame Street character and not the president, but a journalist). He was meant to be my dog.

He's the sweetest, best bud a girl could ask for, even though he's nuts. Here's a look into his puppy days in 'bama. I just watched it again and cracked up.

In our four years together, Grover has eaten furniture, blinds, clothes, had a lot of accidents in the house, ran away, needed stitches, been stung or bitten causing his face to swell about three times its normal size and been so sick I had to miss work for a few days to let him out every hour.

But from day one, Grover stole my heart and became the biggest commitment I'd made in life, until buying a house with a boy. I've never even lived in the same house (outside of kid years) for as long as I've had Grover. 

In that time, Grover has taught me a lot of life lessons and been that other living thing that factored into all other decisions and plans. I mean, how can your life not revolve around that face?

A few other things you learn with dogs. 

+ They need a consistent schedule and help regulate yours. For pretty much his whole life, Grover has been up and ready for me to be up by 7 a.m. at the latest. If I'm not, bad things might happen. 

+ They live to make you happy, but you gotta make them happy too. While living in D.C. I had long commutes and couldn't come home for lunch, making Grover's life much less pleasant. I took him running in the mornings in hopes that he'd be worn out for the day, but he'd occasionally act out by destroying the house or being a holy terror. Part of that was just puppy years, but part of it was he needed me home. As much as I loved D.C., life there didn't seem to work out quite right for me or for Grover. 

+ Unconditional love. Grover and I get in fights, mostly when he doesn't do what he's supposed to do, or looks at me with his "I hear what you're saying, but I'm going to go do this instead" face. But every day, he just looks at you with those precious puppy eyes, snuggles up to you and doesn't demand anything, say anything, judge you for anything. Other than food and exercise, the only thing he really asks me for is love. 

+ Stop and smell the roses. You cannot get through a run with Grover without stopping to sniff grass, rocks, trees, anything. Sometimes it drives me nuts, but he always looks so happy to just take in the outdoors it gives you some perspective on how good your life is and how important it is to appreciate the little things. 

Do you have a dog? What life lessons have you learned from your dog?

It’s highly unlikely that anyone would ever call me a mushy-gushy, lovey dovey romantic. 

Fancy chocolates and expensive flowers are not my thing. I’d rather grow my own flowers, or buy some at the farmers market to brighten up the house. 

Valentine’s Day is really not my thing. 

A single day is not enough for all the love in the world. There truly is a lot of love to go around and I just wish we all spent a little more time sharing that love, myself included. 

Even though it’s not even a top 5 holiday in my book, love deserves a mention. And since it’s been a year and one month since I moved to Montana to live with M, just over two years since we started dating again and it's Grover's 4th birthday, I suppose now is as good a time as any. 

 14 Things I Love

+ This verse. My aunt read it during my uncle’s wedding and I can’t say I truly understood all of it until Grover came into my life and then even deeper still when M reappeared in my life.

+ M. I am not especially patient, or always kind. Neither is he. But somehow we’ve formed a team that can handle house buying, garden planning, chicken raising, job changing, adventure seeking, renovating and more. A friend once wrote about marriage and advised to “never go to be angry.” I won’t say I’m always successful with that, but I never walk out the door or go to sleep without saying “I love you.” He often brings out the best in me, challenges me and at the end of every day, says "I love you."

+ Grover. It might sound silly but I honestly think this dog showed me my capacity to love. He infuriates me some times, but I feel like part of me is missing when I'm away from him for very long. I become nothing less than a sloppy mess of tears when he's hurt or when he decides it's a good idea to run away for awhile. He's my running buddy, my guard dog, my best bud and the sweetest bundle of love that I get to come home to every night.

+ Family. The people you fight with and can't wait to get away from when you're a kid and as soon as you move away, you can't wait to get back. We're spread all over the country, mostly thanks to military life, but we're never really far apart.

+ Friends. The very best people. There for you at your worst and will celebrate your best. A girl's true treasures are her friends. Little bits of my heart are with friends all over the globe. They help you become you are. 

+ Travel. My view on life and the world is hugely influenced by my time spent abroad. It gives you a chance to explore other cultures, places and ways of life. It also lets you lose yourself and find yourself. You become stronger, smarter, bolder and yet more aware of yourself and you learn to get by come what may. Travel changes you, usually for the better.

+ Work. Finding a pursuit worthy of your passions and skills is no small feat and greater still when you can give back through your work. As a journalist, I get to meet amazing people, learn how government works, connect people and resources, welcome home heroes and learn something about everything. Plus, I get to have inside jokes with governors and generals and have a chat with an astronaut played by Tom Hanks in the movie. Journalism isn't a job, it's a way of life and I love it.

+ These songs. A small compilation of some of my favorites on going big and loving deeply. Plus, some of them get me dancing like a lunatic around the house.

+ Skating. There's something about gliding across ice at full speed, jumping, spinning and feeling incredibly free. The sport has changed during my years off the ice, but the feeling of lacing on the skates and stepping onto the ice is the same.

+ Blogging friends. It's amazing how the internet can bring some lovely people into your life. They inspire, motivate, encourage and make you think. They give you awesome playlists, recipes, organization tricks and just make the world feel like a nice place. A few of my favorites: Alicia, Eileen, Erika, Kate, Jamie, Melyssa, Megan, Sarah, Emily, Rachel, Jessica, Christina, Julie and Stacey. In just a month, I'll be #shufflin through an 8K with Alicia and Eileen and I am stoked. 

+ Peppermint. Without fail, peppermint anything (okay, almost anything) lifts my spirits and science says peppermint is a genuine mood booster.

+ Montana. This place is gorgeous. I will forever love my mighty, mighty Commonwealth (aka Virginia) but Montana, you really are something.

+ Our house. It's a work in progress, but most days I love the house that we are turning into a home. 

+ Books. I have too many really, but a good book goes a long way to improving my writing, my day and sometimes my world view. I finally made it into the local library and I love it.

Who/what do you love? Do you do anything special for Valentine's Day?