People think I'm kidding when I say animals find me. Or you know, that I go craigslisting for them, or hunting for lost critters, who knows. But seriously?

EVERY time something huge goes wrong, a new animal comes into my world. It's kind of creepy. Also, if my husband and I are ever driving somewhere and we warn the other to watch out for animals…one WILL try to cross the road in front of us…but that's a more morbid superstition.

Anyways. Yesterday I was in a terrible place. Dove died. It was tearing me apart. The thought of watching the other five die was tearing me apart. I felt like there was no reason to stay alive, to be completely honest.

I called in to stay home from work, but my boss was out of town. I figured hey, I'll go to work, get my mind off of things, feel better in the morning. Instead I spent the entire night thinking about how easy it might be to mix my xanax with everclear and just slip away. I was in a very, very dark place. I had a few xanax, I got into the car after work, and I let him drive me to our home to bury Dove.

We pulled in and he let the dogs out to run around, but he didn't shut the gate. I leapt out of the car, hollered at the girls to get back inside, and latched it. I snuggled back into my car seat, figuring that was my last little burst of excitement before, you know.

Then Sir comes out of the house. I think he'll be carrying Dove, but he's empty handed. He's looking at something at our yard – looks up at me, then points. I get out and I walk over.

To this:

She was wearing a collar with a broken leash. No real surprise, because we had a pretty huge storm the other day and that's usually when dogs flip out and get away. We didn't recognize her, and we live next to a highway, so we picked her up, put her in the car, and drove to the vet to get her scanned for a chip.

No chip, no tags, but great teeth, nails, and after a bath – a great coat, too! She's chilling in the one kennel we have left right now while we look for her owner. She's perfectly behaved, house trained, and clearly had a good family before she found her way into our trashy neighborhood. I mean seriously. People around here think dogs belong outdoors, chained to trees 24-7, and we have coyotes, bobcats, boars, you name it. Not good.

So for the time being Tootsie, as we named her, is chillin' with us. I don't know why animals appear every time a crisis happens. But Toots saved my life this morning. I hope I can get her back where she belongs. She really deserves it.