Lauren M’s Story

The relationship my fiancé Kevin and I share can best be described as destiny. Cliché as it may sound there are so many fated factors that lead to us meeting. We met because I was his dog walker, and after a year of dating, the proposal was better than I could have ever dreamed.

I graduated from the University of Georgia in 2007 and immediately moved to Florida taking a job as a magazine editor. Unfortunately (or so I thought at the time) I was assigned to work for a rather mean Senior Editor who made it her personal mission to see I was fired in less than six months. She made it happen. So, I “resigned” in the spring of 2008 and moved back home to my parents with my newly acquired puppy (Indiana Jones).

Within a week of moving home, I was hired to become an account executive at a Jezebel magazine. My dream job is to become a Publisher, so this was a great stepping stone. Thanks to a great first month at Jezebel, Jones and I were out of my parents’ house and into a new apartment in Vinings in just a few weeks. Initially, the apartment was so perfect because it was very dog-friendly, with a dog park and trails running down to the Chattahoochee.

Due to financial constraints, I started looking for a second job. I was determined to be independent. Then I met Becca while walking Jones one day. Our mutts hit it off, and when I asked what she did, she told me she had this great gig as a dog walker, and she was making even more money than I was at Jezebel! She set up a meeting with her boss and I was on board! It was fantastic that I could make extra money just by having a dog come stay overnight with Jones and me.

So then one Thursday I got a call from my boss saying this guy Kevin Patrick needs someone to watch his dog Marley starting the next day. She knew my schedule was free, and Marley was only 15 pounds like Jones, so she thought it would be a good fit. The next morning this handsome, tall, lean, freckled red head shows up with the cutest scruffy dog (imagine a black version of Toto from the Wizard of Oz). It was such a “whoa” moment. Our dogs hit it off that weekend, running around non-stop. That Sunday when he came to pick up Marley, I brazenly suggested a play date for the pups. We met the next Saturday, and then he asked me on a real date, sans puppies. Our chemistry is magnetic, and we have literally spent as much time together as possible since the fall of 2008. I officially moved in last May, and our one year anniversary was in August.

In October, we found a cabin in the mountains that was a true honeymooner’s cabin and also dog friendly. We grabbed the pups and hit the road. Much to my surprise, during a hike one afternoon in the Middle-of-Nowhere Tennessee, Kevin pulled out a perfect, 2 carat diamond solitaire. I’ll never forget the most perfect two sentences ever spoken “I was wondering, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife. Lauren, will you marry me?”

All the rocky parts in the road were just part of the path to Kevin and me meeting. If I’d never moved to Florida, found Jones, gotten sacked, moved to an apartment specifically designed for dogs, met Becca, and struggled financially which led to becoming a dog walker then I never would have met the love of my life. It’s amazing how tumultuous those months were leading up to finding the love of my life.