I actually knew mom first. See, mom runs a shelter for homeless dogs (Minnesota Greyhound Rescue) …and sadly, that was me at only 11 months old. My name at that time was Brown Bullet (mom called me “Wooly Bully” because I still had my fuzzy puppy coat), and for whatever reason, my racing owner didn’t want me anymore. So mom took me in.

I hadn’t been at the shelter very long before I met dad. It was May 2019. He met some other dogs that day too, but he liked me the best. A couple weeks later, I moved in with dad to our first apartment in Lowertown, St Paul. You saw all the pictures.

I liked being a city dog. We walked along the riverfront and saw all the bridges; we watched the people at Union Depot from our living room window. When the pandemic happened, it was just me and dad, together all the time, and that was just fine with me.

Dad loved me so much that he wanted to help more dogs like me; so he started volunteering for mom’s dog rescue. He did phone interviews of people who wanted to adopt dogs. So he and mom started chatting more and more, and they became good friends. Sometimes we would go to the shelter and visit mom, and I got to run in her big yard.

When dad and I took long drives, like to visit Grandpaw and Grandma, dad would call mom from the car and they would talk-talk-talk while I napped in the back seat.

Now like I said, dad and I spent almost all of our time together, so I knew him better than anyone else - especially more than my cat sister, Minnie. And I thought that he and mom should be more than just best friends.

So one day, in June 2021, I decided to help things along. Mom had come over to hang out and have dinner with us, and after dinner she and dad were talk-talk-talking the way they always did. Mom was in the chair and dad was on my little couch with me. When mom got up from her chair, I saw my opportunity. I jumped up and stole her spot, and made sure I looked super comfy so that she wouldn’t have the heart to move me. The only spot left for her to sit was on my couch, right next to dad. Bingo.

Who made the first move is a subject of great debate between mom and dad, and only I know the real truth – but I’ll never tell. All I know is, just like they say in human fairytales, they lived happily ever after. Two years later dad and I bought a house right next to mom’s so we could see each other all the time. And later that same year, dad got me a dog!

Jonas came to live with us that Christmas.

And now we are all a big happy family. I’ve got lots of dog stepbrothers, two cat roommates, and five human siblings that I love very much. And mom and dad are my forever mom and dad.

Gunflint Lake is one of my favorite places to go with my parents. My best dog friend Jimmy and I used to call it “Big Dish” because the water is so cool and yummy to drink. It’s peaceful, and we get to take long walks and spend time together.

Our little family can’t wait to show this place to all of you.

Love,

Bowie Adams