DOGS

To put into words how much I love dogs is like someone saying that they're going to count the fish in the ocean or the stars in the sky; in a few words close to impossible. Dogs have been my favorite animal ever since I was little, and up until now that hasn't changed. The one thing that did change was the reasons for them being my favorite animal and here's why: 

When I was little I loved dogs because of how pretty they seemed, how playful they always were and how fun it looked to throw a stick and have someone bring it back. Over the years, I realized that a dog was not just pretty and playful but that it was the most loyal, selfless creature on the world I realized that I would never be or feel alone when in the company of a dog. Because a dog would never judge you or leave you instead he'll stand by your side and be the best dog that he can be. How do I know all this?  Let me tell you the story of my dog and how he changed my life forever.

When I was 8 I got my first dog, a little black labrador and he was the cutest thing that I had ever seen and would ever see. From the moment on I decided that he would be my best friend for the rest of my life. I spent most of my childhood with him trying to teach him how to bring back a ball but as much as I tried he always kept them only to run away and hide them. As I got older taking care of him was harder, I got put on poop picking duty and was surrounded by mountains of homework, unfortunately, my days of spending all day in the yard with him were over. Fortunately for him I had a younger sister who was more than willing to play with him and keep him from feeling lonely. As the years passed we all grew, especially him who from being a small puppy turned into something that could be defined as a small horse or maybe not that big but he sure ate as much as one. Due to his horse like size he wasn't allowed in the house anymore but that didn't stop him from coming in anyway. It was always fun to come back from school expecting him to be outside in the yard only to find him waiting for us behind the front door.

 My dog was never that obedient or ordinary for that matter, but he was always there when you needed him. You know how they say that dogs smell fear? Well, my dog smelled sadness because whenever you were even the slightest bit sad he would run over and tackle you to the ground not leaving you alone until you were laughing or went to play with him. For the longest time, It didn't occur to me that my dog could ever be scared or sad too, but apparently I was to be proved wrong. One particular night there was a huge thunderstorm, but before we went to sleep we went to check on him to see if he was okay and according to my parents he looked normal so we all proceeded to go to sleep. Apparently he wasn't all that okay because in the middle of the night he came into my room whimpering like a scolded chihuahua at first I thought that maybe he had come into the house and got locked inside but when thunder stricked the ground again he rushed over and tackled me in search of safety. Ever since that night whenever there was thunder he would come to my room and stay there until he was positive that it had stopped raining. 

Time passed and he got older and slower my mother started saying that he looked sick most of the time but to me he always looked perfect maybe that's the reason why I failed to see that his time was coming. No matter how old or slow he got he was always there behind the door waiting for us to get back and it wasn't until I saw how tired he was just from his journey to the door that I realized that he really was sick. It was now my turn to take care of him and make sure he wasn't sad or suffering like he did for me for all those years. I asked my mother if we could take him to the vet and the look on her face told me that they had already taken him without me knowing. Cancer I remember my mother had told us, and apparently we had a choice to make: either wait for it to kill him or take him to the vet to be put down. I couldn't phantom the thought of my dog suffering so after we saw how much he was suffering we took him to the vet and I have to admit it was one of the saddest days of my life.

After he was gone I realized that things without him would never be the same. I would never forget the way he refused to bring a ball back or how he could know if you were sad or how he was always so happy, even in the end. As I came to that realization I made a promise to myself that I would never forget him, but to be honest, I never would, how could I when every time it rains I keep waiting for him to come to my room scared. To this day, I miss him with all my heart but I know that wherever he is he's happy and I decided that instead of being sad I would be grateful. Grateful for how he filled every day with happiness and how he always managed to get me in a good mood. Grateful for how he was always there for me and grateful that I got to have such a good dog. To him wherever he is I say thank you for filling my days with happines and laughter.