This Valentine’s day I’m not going to be thinking about flowers and candy or not having that special someone. My heart will grow heavy with the thought of my four-legged friend. I love animals. I don’t know why but I just do, especially dogs: they have always been a part of my family.

A couple months ago my mom rescued a six-month-old golden retriever. She had been lying in mud in the middle of the road, abandoned by her owners. My mom brought her home. We took her out to the backyard to give her a wash and to give her some food. As my mom tried to figure out how to find the owner, I stayed in the backyard with her.

I just sat out there, and she curled up at my feet. We already have three dogs, so there was no way we could keep her. I was going to try and distance myself, but I couldn’t. When we let her into the house, she followed me around. When I sat down, she would lay at my feet. Later on, when I was swimming, she jumped in the pool to swim with me. My brother and I felt we should give her a name, Shelby.

To be honest, I didn’t assist in the least to find the owners. After three days of playing fetch, swimming and jumping on my bed in the morning, my mom’s friend found a family that would love to have her.

At first, I was happy. Keeping her wouldn’t have been fair. We already had so many animals. It would have made things difficult. Then the lady showed up. She put a leash on Shelby and took her out to her car. My heart was beating so fast that my throat was swelling up. I couldn’t go out there, I thought I could handle it but I realized I couldn’t.

My mom and my brother thought it would be a good idea to say goodbye. I slowly dragged my feet and walked outside. Shelby was sitting by the car. The moment she saw me she tried to come over, but the lady had a hard grip on her leash. I walked over to her, and she jumped up to put her paws on my shoulders. As I looked down into her eyes, I knew I couldn’t hold it in. She started to lick drops of salty water running down my cheek. I had to help her get into the car since she kept jumping out.

Now that a couple months have passed, my mom got an update saying how great Shelby’s doing and that she just loves her new family. I get this bittersweet feeling. With Valentine’s Day coming up and people talking of puppy love, I feel that I have a different definition.