Who does not love animals? Seriously, I do not think I have ever met a person who does not like at least one kind of animal. I know some people do not like dogs or cats, but there are millions of different types of animals that we do not even know exist.
Ever since I was born, my family has always had a pet. I grew up always having a wiener dog because if you know my mom, you know how obsessed she is with them.
As a kid, I always stayed busy with things. Whether it be sports, school, hobbies, you name it, I was doing it. I never really was home as much as other kids my age, so I did not get to see my pets a lot of the times. But, that does not mean I did not love them less.
To be completely honest, I never really took pictures of my dogs or posted them on social media unlike every one of my friends would. I did not care enough to do that.
It was not until I was getting ready to move into my dorm freshman year that I began to love on my dogs more. As a kid, you are carefree and do not have a worry in the world. As you get older though, reality hits you hard and it seems as if it is problem after problem for you.
The first week of classes my freshman year really shocked me because of how many dogs I saw on a daily basis. In high school, if you saw an animal, everyone would act as if they have never seen one before because it was rare to see one during school hours.
I knew these dogs I saw on campus were service dogs, but I had always thought service dogs were for the blind or for people who really needed them to get around town. The people with these dogs did not seem like they needed them because they were all just regular college students going to class.
It was not until a little later in the year I learned that anyone with anxiety or depression could have a service dog. This blew my mind because I have both those things and get through my day fine.
The first time I came back home from moving into my dorm I realized how much I missed my pets. Leaving them when I first moved into my dorm was a piece of cake, but leaving them when I had to go back to college really hit me hard because of how much love you have for them and they have for you.
Nowadays, every time I visit home, I beg my mom to let me bring one of my dogs back to school with me. And, of course, you already know that answer to be a hard no, but it is always worth a try.
College is a really stressful time and puts a lot of pressure and anxiety on people. Sometimes, the therapy or medication will not do the trick and the only thing that will help is the love and comfort you get from an animal.
