Valentine’s Day and romance are synonymous, but the best Valentine’s Day I ever had had nothing to do with massive bouquets of flowers or a tiny blue box from Tiffany & Co. Instead, the best Valentine’s gift I ever received walked into my life on four legs.

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted a black and tan dachshund. The dachshund in my mind was a standard size, not miniature, and his name was Banjo. That’s right, Banjo. I am from Alabama after all. 

In 2009, I decided I was ready to start looking, but I had a tough time finding the perfect pup that met all my criteria. I had wanted Banjo for so long I had to be absolutely sure he was the right one.

What was your best Valentine's Day? Tell us in the comments.

I was driving home from work on a day not long after Valentine’s Day when something on the side of the road caught my attention. I pulled my car into a parking lot and followed a little black dog down the sidewalk. He was a dachshund—standard, not miniature—with no collar and he was filthy. I didn’t realize it at the time, but underneath the fleas and dirt was Banjo.

After a brief greeting, I scooped the dog in my arms and started walking in the direction from which he came to find his owners. This wasn’t a residential area, so I asked business owners and passerby if they knew where he belonged. When no one recognized him I took him to a vet to see if he had a microchip. He didn’t. After a call to the animal shelter revealed that no one in the county had reported a missing dachshund, I became hopeful. Was this Banjo? My Banjo? To be sure I made fliers and placed an ad in the newspaper.

In the weeks the ad ran I began to fall in love with this dog. He was a lover who wanted nothing more than to sit in your lap or snuggle next to you in bed at night. I knew I was in trouble when I came home from work to find he’d destroyed every set of blinds in my living room and I didn’t care. Well, not that much anyway.

Eventually “the dog” became Banjo. We speculate that Banjo was abandoned by his preivous owners when they moved away or he ran off and they didn't bother to look for him. And you’d better believe it when I say have the best dog ever. His loving personality and need to cuddle with you 24 hours a day make him the perfect Valentine. We even celebrate his birthday in February. I wouldn’t trade him for all the bouquets and Tiffany blue boxes in the world.