As the old adage goes, true love is hard to find. Those of us who spend a lifetime looking for it will tend to agree. But for Pauline Adams, author of debut novel “Valentine’s Journey,” finding her love was as easy as taking a trip to the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. She was introduced to her love by her husband. And the truth of the matter is that her husband was in love, too—with Valentine, a 10-week-old, three pound, fluffy, black and white puppy.

Love comes in all shapes and forms, and for Adams, meeting Valentine was love at first sight.

Adams says, “When I saw her, she was even more precious than I could imagine.”

And the fact that she came into her and her husband’s lives just a few day before Valentine’s Day could not have been more perfect.

“She was a present from my husband. This is how she got her name Valentine,” Adams explains.

Valentine is a Havanese: a breed of dog that hails from Havana, Cuba. They are a perfect family pet and have been known to lavish in the life of luxury. They say curiosity killed the cat, but for the Havanese, curiosity only makes this sprightly, toy breed more endearing.

Little did Adams know that when she fell in love her very own Havanese, it was a curious first step on her road to becoming an author.

“I wanted to write about Valentine because I love her so much,” Adams says. “I didn't want to forget anything about the first year of her life. They grow so fast just like children.”

“Valentine’s Journey” follows Valentine’s first year of life. As with all life, the first tentative step in growth can be the most trying. In her book, Adams tells about teething, puppy temper tantrums, booster shots, obedience training and all the love and patience Valentine needed.

But the street goes two ways. Valentine gave back to her owners as she received.

“People can learn a lot from their pets,” she says. “They are always loyal and have so much love to give, and ask for so little in return. They teach us that we need exercise and to drink plenty of water when working out. We need balanced meals to stay healthy. We need to play sometimes and just relax a little. Not just work all the time.”

Not only was it love at first sight, Valentine was also Adams’ unexpected muse.

“This is my first book,” she says. “I just started to write after I got Valentine. I never wrote anything before but my granddaughter said go for it Nanny and I did. I never was good in English so I tried to get someone to edit it for me. I learned a lot from this experience. I'm glad that I did it.”

In her debut book, Adams adorns the pages with her own water-colored illustrations, adding an extra touch of love for her reader.

Maybe we will hear and see more of Valentine’s Journey in the future as Adams admits that “this book is more of a biography of her [Valentine’s] life, but I would like more adventures for her in the future. I would like to try and write another book about her.”

Perhaps Valentine can sniff and scratch her way into all our hearts and to a series of books.

“Valentine’s Journey” shares Valentine’s joyful life in hopes that all can read and know the importance and life-changing lessons that can be discovered from giving unconditional love to a pet.

Adams says, “Be kind to your pet and you will be rewarded” as she was certainly rewarded by her Valentine.