Age 5
When Dylan was five years old, three puppies came to stay for a little while. They were terriers — small dogs with wiry fur and a lot of opinions — and they were only eight weeks old, which is very young even for a puppy. Eight weeks is just barely old enough to be away from their mom. All day long they did what puppies do: they ate, they slept, they ran in circles, they made messes, and then they did it all over again. They were soft and warm and they smelled like puppy, which is one of the best smells there is. Dylan saw them and that was it — he loved them right away, all three of them, without having to think about it even a little.