After Renee Hall's previous Boston terrier died of cancer, it took years before she was ready for another dog.

“We had to put him down,” she said. “It was very hard.”

Little by little, she became more ready and began visiting the websites of Boston terrier breeders. Then one day, when she and her husband, William, were at their second home in Florida, a picture of a brindled terrier puppy with one blue and one brown eye popped up on Craigslist.

“I looked at his picture, and I told my husband, ‘This dog is in Jacksonville, on our way home. I'm going to give this woman a call,'?” Hall said.

So in August 2013, the Halls made a stop to see Oliver. And the puppy was glad they did.

“Oliver ran up to us from across the room,” Hall said.

“He jumped up on my husband and began licking his face. My husband opened up his wallet, took out cash and paid the woman. Within a half-hour, we were out the door and on our way back to Maryland with a puppy in a box.”

The puppy immediately assumed control of the Halls and their home in Hydes, in Baltimore County. The couple has learned to live by Oliver's rules, which include never placing a hamper of clean laundry on the floor and allowing the 30-pound pooch to sit on their laps.

“He is the most lovable dog,” Hall said. “He has really added a lot of joy to our family.”

To have your pet — including hamsters, guinea pigs, horses and the like — considered for Collared, email pets@

baltsun.com and put “Collared” in the subject line.

—?Mary Carole McCauley