Mr. Monk and the Dog

No one can escape the joy that comes from having a pet. Not even Mr. Monk.

You see, Mr. Monk temporarily adopted a beautiful dog named Shelby while he investigated the murder of her poor owner. At first, Mr. Monk was completely clueless and, honestly, if it weren't for Julie's allergies, I would have just taken Shelby myself. But I've got to hand it to him. When it came down to it, Mr. Monk really fell in love with that dog. It was absolutely touching how Mr. Monk opened his heart and home to her.

Of course, Mr. Monk's new found loved didn't go untested. It was quite a hard pill to swallow when Shelby went into labor! That's right. She had puppies! I've been around dogs before, so I can't believe I didn't realize she was pregnant. Mr. Monk just about went into shock. And you can just imagine the difficulty I had trying to convince him no to close his heart again. Not when Shelby needed care more than ever. Not when he was finally allowing love back into his life. Thankfully cute, little Exhibit A got through where I might have failed.

Who's Exhibit A? Grandpa Monk's first grandpuppy that's who. You see, Shelby's puppies were born without tails, which was proof that Shelby's owner had been associated with the case's prime suspect because it meant his dog was the father. Talk about a soap opera…! Oh, but those little cuties were worth all the trouble. I think they and their mother helped heal Mr. Monk if only just a little.

He may not know it, but a few days ago, when some of my family came to pick out a puppy and ended up taking Shelby and all the puppies, I spied Mr. Monk actually petting Shelby without a protective glove! It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen him do. I'm going to miss Shelby. And I hope that the lesson she taught Mr. Monk never leaves him.

-Natalie Teeger