Jia is petrified of dogs. Charlie the dog is terrified of children. And neither of them knows why! On the day their paths cross, they do everything they can to avoid each other. But circumstances bring them together in an unexpected way.

I wrote this story because I was petrified of dogs my whole life until adulthood. Jia is named after my Chinese name (佳) because, like her, I lived with an irrational fear I couldn't explain or shake. I wanted to explore how fear can isolate us—and how our greatest fears can lead to some of our greatest joys, like Enya, the shelter dog we rescued. My family was thrilled because we could never have a dog because of my fear. The photo on the right is the happy day we brought her home!