We got Lili, a purebred Beagle while stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. We were looking for a companion and little sister for Maggie, and from what we knew about the beagle breed, we selected well.

Lili was born September 2, 2010, and we got Lili at just over 9 weeks old. Lili's full name is Lilikoi Cupcake. Lilikoi is Hawaiian passionfruit, and it was also the filling in our wedding cake when we got married in Hawaii in March 2010. It seemed an appropriate name because it has a Hawaiian flare, but can still be shortened to be pronounced easily and understood by young puppies.

Maggie was our first child.

She is a three year-old, 45 pound black Labrador mixed with what we think is border collie. She was a stray in Gaston, North Carolina when the shelter picked her up and she was later shipped to Wild Heir Labrador Rescue in Charleston, South Carolina.

Maggie, who was originally named Lizzie by the lab rescue spent time with a nice foster mom in Charleston who thought the name "Lizzie" sounded ugly and promptly renamed her (thank goodness!). Maggie came to her foster parents October 2009 (ironically the same week we moved to Charleston- like she was waiting for us) and stayed with her foster parents until April 2009 when I finally convinced Nick (who was only my boyfriend still at this point and we had been living together for five months) that, if I was going to spend as much time alone as I did with him being in the Navy, I need a companion.

We applied to a few rescues and Wild Heir was the first to approve us. We met Maggie at a meet and greet event with the rescue. They had to drag her over to meet us, poor scared thing. She was the right size for us (we didn't want anything full lab or too large since we lived in an apartment) and she was a cutie. But personality-wise it just wasn't there. Nick took to her right away. I wasn't so sure.

The rescue allowed us to take her overnight before adopting to see how she meshed with us. She was scared to death to get in our car. When she got home she huddled in a corner all night, only coming out momentarily to drink some water. She spent the night in her crate but in the morning was eager to come out to go outside. I think it was that need that helped her feel relaxed- she had to get out and go and I was the one to let her out.

She was still quite the 'fraidy dog for the next few days but started to loosen up with us and I really started to fall for her. Nick had still somehow fallen for her the first day (which is funny, considering he didn't even know if he wanted to get a dog). Nick's mother came to visit only 3 weeks later and I felt awful because Maggie was so afraid of her. It wasn't just her though- it was people in general. I know she was a stray but have no idea what happened to make her so afraid of humans. Dogs were a different story though and she got along with all of them.

Charleston had amazing dog parks and since I only worked part time at a cafe at the time, I took a lot of opportunities to take Maggie to the dog parks. I really think that playing with other dogs and even being around people at the dog parks helped her loosen up a lot. Her stomach still couldn't handle cars well though.

A year and a half later, Maggie is just the perfect dog. I know everyone says that about their canine family, but Maggie really is quite well-behaved. We always get compliments when people watch her for us. She was well-trained by her foster mom with the crate training and basic "sit" commands, and she picked up other commands in a flash. Amazingly Hawaii has been the only place she has been fine with car rides. She just loves to hang her head out the window while I'm driving- and I like not having to clean up vomit so it's truly a win-win.

When Nick isn't here she shares the bed with me. When he is here...well, I don't know that she is happy about not being in bed with us but she doesn't seem too grumpy. Maggie and I go for long walks and runs. She loves to hunt for geckos here though I have to watch her carefully because there are poisonous frogs in Hawaii I have to keep her from eating. When I'm by myself (as I am when Nick is deployed) she really helps keep me sane. I'm so thankful we have a single family home with thick walls so the neighbors can't hear me having conversations with her or asking her what she thinks I should wear today.

Maggie is learning to be an excellent big sister to our latest addition, Lili. :)

If you do live on island, you are probably aware of the frogs here that carry a poisonous toxin that can kill dogs within minutes of consumption. On my side of the island I didn't even think I had to worry about the frogs since it's pretty dry and I hadn't seen any previously. Recently Maggie and I have been running together nearby in areas where there are a lot of sprinklers and on more than one occasion Maggie has almost gotten one of the frogs- which really scared me. I recently discovered this article on Hawaiian First Aid for Pets that I think everyone who has pets in Hawaii should read- how to react if your dog consumes frog toxin. Pass it on if you know someone who has a pet in Hawaii!