There are a lot of things no one tells you when you get a dog, like that it takes anywhere from 6 months to a year to potty train them and not 2 weeks like literature suggests, or that they make this terrible swooshing sound that runs through their entire bodies, just seconds before throwing up or that they like to steal bras and underwear out of the laundry bin and run amuck around the house with them. Yea, I know.

Then there are things that you’re told that you brush off until it actually happens, like when they have horrible separation anxiety and you come home after a long day at work, practically wiped out, to find that your kitchen has been literally skunk sprayed with piss in revenge or that they might turn out to be super picky eaters that scoff at canned food.

When I brought Henry home that May day 2 years ago, I didn’t fully realize what I was getting myself into. I didn’t know that his baby teeth would fall out and he’d grow into his adult ones, I didn’t know that he would require surgery because of two bad knees, but despite all of that, I didn’t know that I was capable of loving him so much.

Driving back to L.A. from Hemet, Calif. from the breeders house was tough. He cried and he wiggled and he wiggled and he cried. It wasn’t until he tired himself out and fell asleep to the hum of the engine. He was only 2 lbs back then and about the size of a small stuffed bear. It’s hard to believe he’s only been in my life for 2 years, when it feels like a lifetime. There are many days when I can’t remember how I spent my time before he arrived and then there are other days when I realize how utterly empty the house would be if he wasn’t in it.

Upon the anniversary of a meeting that introduced us to each other, an encounter which has given me the opportunity to be happier, to laugh more and to realize that life does not seem right without a dog, I feel grateful to a 6 lb fiery Maltese, who loves green bell peppers, lettuce and blueberries and hates when you touch his paws, leave for work or don’t answer his scratches and calls for you to life him onto your lap has given me so much. I can only hope he feels the same. Judging by licks and nuzzles, it’s probably safe to say he does.