Meet Bela: our six-pound deer head Chihuahua who quite literally sniffed out my breast cancer back in the spring of 2023. For weeks on end she wouldn’t let up — sniffing, pawing, and jumping at the left side of my chest until I finally found a lump. A doctor’s visit led to imaging and a biopsy that confirmed stage one breast cancer. I underwent successful treatment in July 2023. Thanks to early detection, expert medical care — and one amazing “medicine dog” — I made a complete recovery.—Alexander Smoliak
Harper is a barker. And not your run-of-the-mill yapper, but a full-blown “every single time I get into the car” barker. We’ve tried absolutely everything to silence the back-seat racket — nothing works. Sure, our friends and family swear he needs some discipline, but I beg to differ. He’s not barking to be naughty; he’s just personally greeting every pal he knows. One day, driving and chatting with my niece Missy on the phone, I explained that he’d pipe down once we left the neighbourhood. 20 minutes later, my niece blurted out, “Wow, that dog has a LOT of friends.”—Sandra Roth
Mark was absolutely heartbroken when his standard Poodle, Echo, passed away. He never really healed — until, one Spring day while smoking a cigarette, an Eastern cottontail rabbit appeared on his deck. The two just stared at each other for a while, wrapped in a powerful aura of peace. The rabbit kept coming back, even carving out a shelter in a big white planter. The first time it met the new family dog, neither one flinched — the bunny didn’t flee, and the dog didn’t give chase. A sign? Echo reincarnated? Mark is convinced Echo’s soul lives on, perhaps in that very rabbit now living in the planter.—Monica Lin Morishita
tutelary companion — If only I could throw it back to simpler days
Back before the whole world started to make way too much sense
When every good intention still felt sharp, spotless, and clear
Then maybe I could finally be proud of the moves I pull
Nowadays the only thing I chase is calm — nothing more, nothing less
tutelary companion — Except for that one squirrel who gets on every single nerve I have
That furry little bandit scares off all my pretty birds
And gnaws right through the bird feeder
Our pocket-sized pup greets them all with one mighty bark.—M. Dunlap
A scrawny, long-eared, hairless baby hound, hollow with hunger, lay trapped in a forest pit staring fate in the face — until a young boy walking home from school took a shortcut through those inviting, leafy woods and spotted the tiny creature. He scooped him up, cradled him close, and rushed him home. Armed with medicine and endless tender care, that abandoned pup finally tasted kindness for the very first time. Next stop was a loving foster mom to help him heal — and then, after all that heartbreak, it was my turn to scoop him up and shower him with love. That was nine years ago, and my gorgeous Merlin has known nothing but unconditional devotion ever since.—Rose Hawkins
tutelary companion — My gloriously mixed 'mutt-mosaic' girl Anisette gives brand-new meaning to star power — she's the irresistible face headlining my Cool Ranch Dog Doritos commercial. 'Annie' will happily wear almost any ridiculous costume you Velcro onto her, and while she's absolutely no guide dog, she sure can play one on TV! She once stole the show with a side-splitting outtake, gobbling down a Dorito her blind human (hi, that's me!) was holding the very second my back was turned. These days she runs a one-dog ranch-security empire, trumpeting the alarm with booming barks and thwacking visitors with her wagging tail while securing smiles from everyone lucky enough to enter her domain!—Sam Madden
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