A Woman Went to a Shelter to Adopt a New Dog After Seven Years of Regret—Then She Found the One She Never Stopped Loving

a small, nylon talisman of a life that felt like it belonged to another person. For a long time, the scent of him clung to that collar—grass, dust, and the faint, sweet smell of shampoo. When that scent finally faded, it felt like losing him all over again.

I spent years rebuilding, brick by agonizing brick. I moved from transitional housing to a studio,continue reading …