Love, Like A Puppy, Is Where You Find It
If this were a romance novel, the book jacket might read: Can a tomato farmer and an employment coordinator find love at the animal shelter?
But the story is true. Becca Blankinship (formerly Becca Rucker) runs Rucker Tomato Farm near Cusick. Her husband, Ed Blankinship, helps disadvantaged people find jobs through the Northeast Washington Rural Resources Development Association in Colville.
The couple met June 22 in the puppy room at the Spokane Humane Society. They fell in love over the summer under the watchful eyes of a springer spaniel and a Brittany spaniel - both named Max - and married Sept. 9 at the tomato farm with Max and Max among the honored guests.
“I saw Becca on the floor of the puppy room with Max (the Brittany) and I thought, ‘I need to meet her,”’ Ed said.
Becca was in town that fateful day to deliver tomatoes to Spokane supermarkets. Ed was in town trying to line up a summer job for a young client.
The girl liked animals, so Ed figured he’d stop by the Humane Society to see if they needed any summer help. While there, he decided to check out the puppies. Just moments before, Becca had decided it was time to adopt a puppy. She pulled the Rucker Farm truck into the Humane Society parking lot.
“When Ed approached me, I felt defensive because I was intent on adopting Max and it was obvious he liked the dog, too,” Becca said.
“But I got him anyway,” Ed said, squeezing Becca’s hand.
Although they had never met before, the couple discovered Becca had hired teens through Ed’s agency. Ed said he took advantage of the obvious “in” and asked Becca if he could see the huge greenhouses where she grows her vine-ripened tomatoes.
“He arrived early that day,” Becca said. “When I got there, my employees had already had a chance to talk to him and they pulled me aside and said, ‘This guy is here to see you, not the tomatoes!’ I had no idea.”
On their first date, Ed helped Becca deliver tomatoes. On their second date, they introduced Ed’s 9-year-old dog Max to Becca’s 8-month-old puppy Max.
The dogs liked each other, and about 10 days later, Ed asked Becca to marry him.
“I don’t have trouble making decisions,” Ed said.
Becca, however, took about a month to think about it, then said yes. Both said they were leading happy, productive single lives when they met. Neither was looking to get married.
“You have to be careful. Most people who are single at our age are single for a reason,” quipped Ed, 53. “But I believe this was fate. And the fact that we met because of our love for dogs is a good sign.”
Becca, 48, agrees.
“I think the powers that be would have found a way for us to be together, but because we both love animals and that’s the reason we met, it’s even more wonderful,” she said.
When Ed and Becca married, old Max and Ed moved in with Becca, young Max and four cats. Becca needs to live on the tomato farm in Cusick. That means Ed now has a 75-minute commute from Cusick to Colville.
But he doesn’t seem to mind. Watching the couple hold hands in their log home and listening to them passionately discuss their belief in shelter dogs while Max and Max lounge on the floor, it’s obvious theirs is more than puppy love.
“Singles usually cruise the grocery store and the laundromat when they’re looking for someone,” Ed said. “I’d like to highly recommend the animal shelter.”
xxxx About Dogs appears every other Sunday. Please see page E9 for a calendar of dog events. If you’d like a dog event publicized, write: Mary Sagal, Features Section, Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.