obi the Dog…A Story of

Calm in Chaos

I did not grow up with dogs. In fact, I spent most of my childhood afraid of them. While running cross- country in the seventh grade, I will never forget the Doberman off a leash snarling at me. We had cousins with an overly protective Lab that was far from welcoming. My best friend in middle school had a Beagle ("Bagel") that would howl for 20 minutes after I rang their doorbell. Dogs weren't my favorite.

Fast forward many years. Born and raised in Salem, NH, I took a chance on a job after college in Indianapolis. I spent 5 amazing years in Indy and eventually met my wife Sophia there. Sophia grew up with dogs. A work promotion in July of 2019 gave us the opportunity to move to Columbus, Ohio. Sophia and I packed our bags and moved to a city that neither of us had even been to. Big chance No. 2. Between July of 2019 and March of 2020, I was on the road 5 days a week; and we were busy planning our October 2020 wedding. After being on her own almost 5 days a week, Sophia planted the seed…she wanted to adopt a dog. Absolutely not!

If you're reading this, there's a month and a date that everyone can see what happens next: a pandemic shut the world down in March of 2020. We don't need to re-live it, so I'll skip straight to it. In a period of extreme uncertainty, we were in a state of adapt and survive. Fortunately, our jobs were intact, but stress levels were far higher than normal. In a world that seemed to be crumbling – Sophia saw an opportunity. She told me whatever is happening we can still do good. She made a compelling case to rescue a puppy. I was still a no. But in April of 2020, we "compromised" and adopted a two-year old dog. Big chance No. 3.

Enter Obi stage right! He is a Beagle/Australian Shepherd mix and rescuing him has been the best decision Sophia and I have ever made. At first, he was nothing short of a madman. In the early days in Columbus, we would walk him 10+ miles a day and he'd still be bouncing off the walls of our tiny apartment. Obi was anything but calm; "madman" would be the only accurate description. I went from on the road 5 days a week to completely working from home. My world was flipped upside down. Obi and I would walk 2-3 times a day and he almost broke me. It took every- thing I had to keep this pup running. Obi mercifully grew out of his puppy energy when we bought our first house in Columbus in April of 2021.

As the saying goes, the only constant in life is change. Things were changing at work and an idea began brewing to move back to New England. In June of 2021, we began planning. In July of 2022, Exeter, NH became home. Big chance No 4.

Sophia and I are incredibly thankful for Obi. He has been our constant source of pure, unconditional happiness through the stress of a pandemic, job changes, our COVID wedding saga, two moves (one across the country) and many other life changes.

I am a list person, and to put a bow on our story, here is a list of just a few reasons we love Obi and why he is our calm in the chaos of life:

• Obi is happy to see us. Always.

• Obi legitimately smiles and pants when he's happy.

• Obi stops to smell the roses on walks (and pees on them, too).

• Obi snuggles on the couch with us every night.

• Obi won't win any IQ tests but is SO happy.

• Obi gets along with 99% of other dogs.

• Obi has the funniest, crooked bottom teeth.

• Obi (against all odds) can be off leash.

• Obi has beautiful, crazy eyes.

• Obi loves us unconditionally.

So, take a chance. Rescue a dog. You deserve it and so do they!

Note: For financial advice & planning, contact Connor Slein at Edward Jones via phone at (603) 898-2106.