Puppy love!

This week in Bachelor Nation history, we’re looking back on an iconic hometown date.

This week, the very first Bachelor Alex Michel visited the hometowns of his final four women.

One of those women was Shannon, a financial management consultant from Dallas, Texas.

For her hometown date, Shannon took Alex back to Dallas, which is also where he’s from, and they met her parents, her sister, and her niece.

And while Shannon was excited to introduce Alex to her family, she was also nervous.

She said, “This is a little odd. I don’t usually bring guys home. My parents know that if I bring someone home, it means something. This isn’t just about me anymore. It affects other people’s lives now too.”

As soon as they walked in the door of her house, Shannon became less excited about introducing Alex to her family and more excited about reconnecting with her dog Avery.

She walked in and exclaimed, “Okay, hi, but where’s the puppy?!”

As Shannon immediately fled the room, Alex said, “The dog is number one — more important than we are for sure.”

When they were choosing seats, Shannon wanted a seat near the window so her pup could see her from outside. She said, “I want to sit by Avery! I want her to see that I’m still here.”

Shannon’s parents start chatting with Alex and learning more about him, but Shannon’s mind was elsewhere.

During the conversation, she started talking to her dog through the window, saying, “Avery, I’m sorry I’m not out there with you! Look at her. She’s like, ‘Look at me, Mom!’ Hi, baby girl. I’m just going to go say hi again outside. Let’s go play!”

At one point after Shannon is gone for a while, her mom goes to find her and Alex tells her dad that he doesn’t have any pets or experience with dogs.

After spending some time at the house, Shannon and Alex take Avery for a walk and Alex tries holding the leash.

Shannon gets worried saying, “Be careful walking her. Don’t choke my dog with the leash.”

And while Alex tried to talk to her and ask some questions about their relationship, Shannon kept getting distracted by Avery before she could answer.

Shannon’s mom said she didn’t know if an engagement was in their future, saying, “If Shannon were to come home with a ring in a couple of weeks, I don’t know how I would feel. I would be very surprised. I would hope that they would have a long engagement, then, to really get to know each other.”