On September 22, 1991 Lynnette found Jersey, a 10-week-old American Eskimo at a pet store in Albany, New York. (Since then, I've changed my tune about pet store pet adoptions!)

Jersey was in a cage by himself, and the store owners said he kept getting passed up, while his brothers and sisters were all adopted weeks earlier.

He looked just like a litle white ball of cotton. And to me, the best part was he didn't have those teary eye stains that most white-fur dogs do. His tail had been nipped at by his siblings (and is still scarred to this day), but despite being the runt of the litter, he was very mellow and sweet.

I snatched him up in a heartbeat, and we drove 3 hours upstate to my apartment in Lake Placid, New York.

Side Note: I'd had an American Eskimo before, but he died at only 6 months of age. I always knew I wanted another one...