January: Meet Muffin

Muffin isn’t just a Golden Retriever. She is sunshine wrapped in fur. She wakes up each day smiling, ready and excited for whatever the day brings. Muffin is a rescue with a past no one fully knows. She carries only kindness forward, as if she has decided that love is the only story worth telling. She is so sweet and loves everyone, the kind of dog who makes the world feel softer just by being in it.

Muffin loves everything. Dogs? Instant best friends. People? Everyone is immediate family, though she has her favorites. Men, especially Ken and Noah, make her world go round and light her up with joy. Birds? She watches them like tiny miracles with wings. Bugs? Fascinating little companions she follows with careful curiosity. And toys – her greatest joy. She is completely obsessed. Every chance she gets, she marches over to her toy bucket, tips it over, and proudly scatters every toy across the floor like confetti. Then she stands in the middle of the mess, delighted, as if she has created something wonderful.

Muffin has a beautiful soul. She is a true flower child. She loves sunsets and the moon. Every evening, she sits beside me as the sky melts into gold and pink, then later searches for the moon, pausing when she finds it like she’s greeting an old friend. I start looking for it too, just to see what she sees.

She reminds me to slow down, to notice the small things, and to love without conditions. Muffin didn’t just find a home when she found me. I found mine too.