I flipped through The Complete Portuguese Water Dog book Michael dropped in my lap, and learned that the breed was notoriously high-maintenance, required constant stimulation, and would likely drive me crazy with its hyperactive, smarty-pants temperament. A few weeks later, I came home to find Michael setting up an enormous crate for our yet-to-be-born dog. As I hadn’t even so much as cracked open the training manuals Michael had been crowing about and couldn’t be bothered to follow his example of consistently correcting Roger’s bad puppy habits, I was soon subject to correction myself. I wasn’t sure if it was out of love for Roger, or love for me—either way, it felt like the most extraordinary act of love I could imagine in that moment. All along, I’d been resisting the nitty-gritty and annoying tasks because they were a drag for me, and neglected to consider the effect it had on Michael, not to mention Roger. Getting a dog together wasn’t the storybook rite of passage I initially imagined, but it absolutely strengthened us as a couple in the end, despite the fact that Roger barks/growls/whines anytime his owners even think about going into the bedroom without him.

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