Newly adopted canine companion brings joy to marathon runner

I'm an avid runner. Last year, I ended up suffering a herniated disc a few months before I was scheduled to run the Walt Disney World Marathon. I was upset and in constant pain, but I was trying to work through the injury with physical therapy and get back to running.

One day, we were having an adoption event at my work, so I went with some co-workers to see all of the cute animals. I had radiating pain down my leg and was actually scheduled to go to the doctor that night, but I had been thinking about adopting a beagle for a while. My friend told me that there was a beagle mix at the event, and when I walked over to that adorable little puppy named Jacob, I immediately fell in love.

I completely forgot about how much pain I was in when I looked at this dog. That's when I knew I needed to adopt him. When I told the organizers of the event I wanted to take Jacob home it was the happiest moment of my life. I renamed him Brantley (after Brantley Gilbert), but I kept Jacob as his middle name.

I took Brantley back to my desk and finished off the day of work. Later, I decided to take him to the local Petco instead of going to my doctor's appointment. I had never owned a dog before, so I asked a lot of questions about what to buy and the staff there ended up helping me so much. I signed up for puppy classes that day. Thanks to Petco, Brantley is now an AKC Canine Good Citizen.

When I adopted Brantley, he had giardia and I was able to provide him all of the medicine he needed. I was glad I could help him get over his illness just like he helped me recover from my injury. I ended up running the marathon after all, in the best time I had ever done. I truly think I wouldn't have been able to do it without Brantley.

Brantley joins me on my short runs now and absolutely loves it. He's very athletic. We've done a K9 companion race as well as a 6K for Team World Vision. He's the best running buddy and best friend I could ever ask for. I love him more than anything and I am so happy that I went to that adoption event last October. Brantley changed my life.