2009. May 30.
Koba was 5 months old. It was just the two of us living in a 5,000 sq ft art studio in West Berkeley. We were learning about love and life and how to build a business on Romantic dreams and Midwestern ideals. We spent our days running at the beach and our nights surfing the web. I didn’t know anyone in the Bay Area so I grew my world through keyword searches and chance encounters. I sent countless emails to randomized addresses and waited to see where all the pieces fell.

2015. February 25.
We were driving overnight to Portland when I received a heartfelt email reply from one of my 2009 keyword searches: “Looking for a vacation home for our Rhodesian Ridgeback.” I was beside myself—all of a sudden traveling back in time. It was the same couple I had reached out to 6 years prior. Previously, we had exchanged a few friendly emails about meeting for a ridgeback play date. For some reason, it never happened. But we never forgot. So, we met the following week at Tilden Park. From the first hug, it seemed as if we had known each other through all those distant years that passed. We walked and talked and laughed while our not-so-little-anymore puppies played like packmates.

I have a hard time believing that was one year ago. Since that day, Dagi, Frank and Finn have found a forever home in our hearts. ️🐕 Finn lived with us for almost a month, his long lost vacation home. And Dagi and Frank gifted me with some of the most memorable moments of 2015 with their authenticity and presence. From a hike through the magical forest to a New Year’s Day brunch at a local diner to family stories told over wine and in broken German. If there has ever been a single higher power impacting all the connections in my life, it would be called Craigslist.
@dagicueppers @frankhaase