When we uprooted from Mississippi and moved to Louisiana to be closer to my children it was an exciting time, but a tough decision, too.

It meant moving from a house to an 8×30-foot RV, changing jobs and leaving our two cats and our dog with a friend. We hoped the pets and living arrangements would be very temporary.

The cats ran away and the dog claimed a neighbor’s farm as his new home, and we weren’t able to find another abode until we returned to Mississippi, here in Brookhaven. We lived for a few years in an apartment, where we also could not have a fur baby.

We had fish, but they’re not the same and they freak out if you pet them.

So when we found a house in the county to move to, we were thrilled — not just to have more space, a yard, a garden and a fishing spot — because we could now get a dog.

My wife looked at the Brookhaven Animal Rescue League’s online list of animals available for adoption, and there he was — the dog I knew immediately was mine. He was perfect — the color of the best dog I had previously owned, a pit bull mix (my favorite breed), the age I wanted (not a puppy, not too old), and already had the name of one of my favorite fictional detectives.

So, even without being in our new home yet, we adopted Bosch with the assistance of the wonderful volunteers at BARL. Bosch was ours and we began the process of getting him used to us even as we had to leave him in his large outdoor kennel at the shelter.

When the house deal fell through, and we spent a few more months looking for where we now live, the volunteers worked with us and allowed Bosch to stay until we could take him home.

When the day finally arrived to bring him home with us, we made sure the BARL people — who had made him feel so loved and provided for — were able to tell him goodbye, and vice versa.

Bosch was intended in part to be an emotional support animal, but we think we’ve been just as much emotional support for him. We’ve spoiled him rotten and he has spoiled us, too.

It’s hard to imagine life without our loving 80-plus-pound American Staffordshire terrier mix baby.

I hope we never have to experience it.

I have always loved animals, especially canines, and I feel tremendously blessed to have this one. If it were not for BARL, I may have a dog, but it wouldn’t be Bosch, and it would not have been such a wonderful experience.

Please, if you love animals, support BARL. Give money, or donations of pet food/supplies, or visit the annual rummage sale — it’s this coming Saturday, 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. next door to Brookhaven Wine and Spirits, 908 Brookway Blvd. They’ll also have plants for sale.

It’s a wonderful cause and these are wonderful animals and wonderful people. Helping will also make you feel … well, wonderful.

Thank you in advance for helping BARL, and many thanks to BARL! We can never repay you for how much you have blessed me and my family. You may rescue animals, but in a way you rescued us, too.

News editor Brett Campbell can be reached at brett.campbell@dailyleader.com.