Jillian Harris and Ed Swiderski found love this season on The Bachelorette, and they're both preparing to open their hearts once more — to a dog! "Ed and I plan on adopting a rescue as soon as we settle into a place," Harris, who is getting ready to move to Chicago to be with Swiderski, tells PEOPLE Pets.

Dogs have been a part of the Canadian's life since she was little — beginning with a special canine named Sweets. "My parents put her under the tree at Christmastime when I was about 5," Harris recalls. "We had her for 12 years and she was truly my BFF. We did everything together!" The Vancouver native (and only child) would dress her pup in knit sweaters and take her on road trips. "It was a big joke in the family that she was the other child," Harris says of Sweets, who passed away after being hit by a car during a thunderstorm in 1993. "I cried for weeks and still have dreams about her."

The Harris family found love again with another pooch, a 3-year-old rescue named Risky. "Her name was Frisky when we picked her up from the pound, but my mom wanted to change her name so it was fresh, since she'd been abused," Harris says. "The woman at the shelter suggested that the name rhyme with Frisky, and since we are a family of entrepreneurs, we decided to go with Risky!" The mixed-breed pup was "so young at heart," living to age 13. Two years ago she died. "Her little body was just not up for the party anymore. It was so hard on our whole family. My mom and dad called me and couldn’t even speak — we all just cried on the phone."

Though her losses were heartbreaking, Harris has honored them in special ways, particularly Risky. "We had her cremated after we put her down. I then flew up to Peace River [in Canada] with her ashes, because two of my girlfriends and I have a pet cemetery out there. All of our pets from childhood are there together," Harris says. "It was a breathtaking fall afternoon and the leaves were changing, the sun was beaming. We sprinkled Risky's ashes all around. I saved a little tin of them, and they're in my living room now."

Now, Harris is ready to find another canine pal and has been looking at Web site petswithdisabilities.org for potential mates. We can't wait to meet the lucky pup she and Swiderski end up adopting!

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