"I looked back at the ad, to the two numbers I'd scribbled down, and I realized that, actually, I couldn't let him go. He was part of our family, and no matter what the hassle, no matter what the pain, one thing you don't give up on is family" (Chapter 1, p. 3).

"Twelve of these were entangled with one another, as young puppies tend to be, but our eyes were immediately drawn to one pup who was standing apart from the rest. He seemed the runt of the siblings, the outsider in the family, and that endeared him to Christie immediately" (Chapter 1, p. 11-12).

"As soon as we were out of sight - even before we'd left the kitchen - he'd start whimpering at the top of his lungs. He'd change instantly from being this cute little fella with blue eyes and winning ways to a caterwauling banshee from...