I’m pretty caught up in the pre-Valentine’s Day media swirl. I try to ignore it but I love reading true-life love stories, especially if they feature a dog—and a surprising number of them do. That may be because dogs are pretty great matchmakers.

Nine out of ten people in the UK say they were more likely to strike up a conversation with a stranger if the stranger had a dog, according to a Dogs Trust survey [3] reported in today’s Daily Express. Sometimes these meetings turn into lasting relationships.

So with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I’d love to hear your stories of falling in love because of a dog.