Meet Amanda Leiva
Kevin Rudy and Amanda Leiva of Tomball had dated for four years. But they were still undecided whether to get married. Kevin was a pragmatic engineer with cold feet. Amanda was a children’s librarian, unsure if marriage was right for her. Then a matchmaker named Bruce entered their lives. Did Bruce seal the deal? Let's just say that Kevin and Amanda will celebrate their wedding anniversary next March. Oh yeah, Bruce is a dog. Here’s their story in Amanda’s words:
Every year, Petco Love asks pet adopters to share their story how a pet changed their lives. So I wrote how Bruce, our wonderful, adorable mixed breed Jackchi, that’s a combination Jack Russell Terrier and Chihuahua convinced Kevin and me that we should get married.
Kevin has a practical and very rational mind. He tends to want to think about everything to death. He wasn’t quite sure if he was ready to get married. And if we did get married, how would it work? We had dated for four years and he was still afraid of marriage. I had my own doubts, too.
So we decided to get a dog as a first step to furthering our commitment. Neither of was familiar with raising a dog. Neither of us had a dog when we were growing up. This would be a first time for us, learning our strengths and weakness together with the responsibility of caring for a dog.
Kevin, being so practical, started doing research about breeds of dogs. He wanted to find the perfect dog for living in an apartment. He said we needed a dog that was very relaxed and didn’t need a lot of exercise. He also said we should get a hypoallergenic dog, since I’m allergic to dogs. Kevin also wanted a big dog that he could play fetch with.
We went to the Abandoned Animal Shelter in Magnolia in August of 2020. That’s when we took one look at Bruce and fell in love. He was so sweet the moment we laid eyes on him. Bruce is the opposite of everything Kevin thought he wanted. Bruce is a little guy, only 12 pounds and he loves constant attention. And we love giving him constant attention.
Bruce helped us come together as a couple and made us comfortable in taking the leap into marriage. If we could handle this sassy little 6-year-old Jackchi, we figured we were meant to be married. Bruce was that last push we needed and we got engaged in September, the month after Bruce came home with us. We were married on March 14 of this year. Bruce wasn’t there at the wedding because the venue wouldn’t allow it. But we had a drawing of him on our favors so he was there in spirit.
We want to have kids eventually and Bruce has opened that door for us, too. We’re still living in an apartment but we’re shopping for a house. When we visit my mother, Bruce loves her backyard so he deserves to have a backyard.
Bruce is a little guy but he’s the center of everything. Kevin originally said that if we got a dog the dog would sleep in a crate in the living room. Guess what? Bruce sleeps in bed with us. Sometimes if I get up during the night, he’s in my spot when I get back. It’s like, “seriously, Bruce, whose bed is this?”
Bruce loves us just as much as we love him. That’s the best part. When we come home he jumps so high to greet us. It’s so sweet. Sometimes I will look at him and I am filled with so much joy. He looks back up to me with that beautiful face and it’s pure unconditional love.
Petco Love selected my story about Bruce as one of its national winners. There will be a celebration at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Petco at 22511 State Hwy 249 in Houston. Bruce will get a shopping spree and we will get a prize from BOBS from Skechers who partnered with Petco Love on this project. I heard there may be an extra surprise, too!
