He was there for her in her darkest hour. Later, she was there for his. At age 3, Mya, a rat terrier mix, had been left at an animal shelter. Her owners deposited her there when she turned up pregnant. (Don’t get me started on whose fault that was.) Her six pups all found homes. But no one wanted a depressed, post-partum dam with a questionable past. That DC rescued her from a most certain death 10 years ago she has not forgotten. Two years later, when DC lost his wife to cancer, Mya offered comfort and companionship, helped shoulder his grief and got him out of the house.