09/06/2026
* I do not own the rights to the music*
Long read but so worth it !
We have other dogs in our home who may not be part of our breeding program, but that does not make them any less important. In fact, some of them have a purpose that goes far beyond anything I could have ever planned for them. ♥️
Today, I want to recognize AnnaLena, aka Lena.
Lena was imported from Belarus right after our house fire in 2023. And when I say right after, I mean within a week. Our world had just been turned upside down, and somehow, in the middle of all that chaos, this tiny little Yorkie came into our lives.
She was the very first Yorkie I had ever imported from Belarus. At the time, I thought I knew what her purpose was going to be.
I was wrong.
Lena did not end up making the cut to continue as a breeding female in our program. At first, that felt like the plan had changed. Looking back now, I realize the plan had never changed at all. I just didn’t know what it was yet.
As many of you know, our youngest daughter, Harper, has autism. And to say Lena has helped her would never come close to explaining what this little dog has become to her.
Lena is Harper’s safe place….She is her best friend. She is comfort when words are too hard. She is companionship when the world feels overwhelming. She is a warm little body curled beside her when she needs to feel safe.
Harper dresses her up, puts her in strollers, rides her around on bikes, carries her everywhere, and includes her in just about everything she does. Lena patiently goes along with every bit of it.
In the beginning, I would sometimes take Lena away from Harper, put her down, and tell her, “Go run!”
And she would run…Straight back to Harper…Every single time.
That was when I started realizing this wasn’t just a little girl who loved her dog. This was something deeper.
When Harper gets upset, Lena knows before anyone has to tell her. She can sense the change in her. She finds her, stays beside her, and gives her the kind of comfort that sometimes none of us humans can.
Lena sleeps with Harper every night, no matter where Harper decides she is sleeping. She rides along for school drop-off and then waits patiently for her girl to come back home. When Harper walks through the door, Lena’s whole world is right again.
Their bond is so strong that you don’t have to know their story to see it. Anyone who spends time around them notices it.
I once thought Lena came to us to be part of my breeding program. Now I know better. She came to us for Harper.
Maybe she was never supposed to produce puppies. Maybe her purpose was always to help one little girl feel understood, comforted, protected, and loved in a way only she could.
And maybe Harper was exactly what Lena needed too. Sometimes God sends us what we need before we even understand why.
Lena may not have become the dog I originally planned for her to be, but she became something far greater.
She became Harper’s person in a little four-legged body. ♥️ God knew Harper needed Lena just as much as Lena needed Harper, and I truly believe these two were always meant to find each other.
