It all started with a dog and two strangers in a hurry. One ordinary day at the park, I was out walking my dog—completely minding my own business—when I spotted someone who looked… determined. Like, power-walking-somewhere-important kind of determined. My first thought? Who is this person, looks like we're both on a mission lol. Spoiler alert: That person was my future fiancé. Despite the brief (and slightly comical) encounter, something clicked. Before we even had our first coffee, we started having these encounter's uncovering all these weird and wonderful similarities—same taste in movies, same favorite snacks, even the same brand of stubbornness (which has made for some hilarious debates and exactly zero decisions on where to eat). That first date turned into a second, and then many more—each one full of laughter, long conversations, and the kind of moments that make you realize you’ve found someone really special. And after one particularly beautiful trip to the mountains (plus a lot of dramatic re-telling of how we almost got lost), we came back engaged. We like to say we met by chance, but we stayed because of choice—and because my dog apparently has excellent matchmaking skills.