At the beginning of the summer, everyone shook their heads in disbelief at what I told them I was about to do.

“Two dogs?” they said. “You’re in college, for God’s sake! How on Earth are you going to take care of two dogs?”

That’s right. After having our dog for over a year, my fiancee and I decided to take the leap and get a second dog.

You may ask, what’s the point? Don’t you love the dog you currently have enough? Isn’t it already a lot of work taking care of just one dog? Wouldn’t this be really difficult and hard on you?

The answer is, it depends.

Our first dog Olivia, is a service dog for my fiancee’s PTSD and MS. We got her as a puppy, and tirelessly trained to make her the best service dog she can be. She knows several tricks and commands and is very obedient. It took a lot of work, but now she is a model citizen.

However, our little fur child had a problem--she was lonely. We specifically rented a house in our college town with a fenced backyard so that she could play and run free, but every time I looked outside, she’d be sitting in the grass, looking sad. Sure, I could go outside and throw a ball around with her, but what about when no one was home? Or some days, I need to spend every moment of my day studying and doing homework. That’s not fair to her.

Dogs are pack animals. Their ancestors lived in the wild in large groups. They are born into litters, with three or more siblings to play with. They are not meant to be alone. I can play with my dog all I want, but she would still long for that canine companionship.

So we made the decision to get another dog. We drove almost 40 minutes to a dog shelter to get a dog that we felt fit our dog’s personality. Honestly, it was the best $100 I’ve ever spent. Our new dog, Hamilton, is just what Olivia needed.

Olivia works hard. Being a service dog full-time is a lot of hard work, and she needs to be able to blow off steam. She loves to play with other dogs. I would see how she would interact with other dogs at parks and with our friends, and how sad she seemed afterwards. She was an only child who got to see her peers a few times a month. At this point, it was cruel.

Now, when Olivia isn’t busy helping my fiancee, she is able to play. She still does her job just as well, and in fact, she does her job better now. She is able to relieve stress by playing with her new brother. She smiles more, and yes, dogs can smile.

Hamilton seems happier now, too. I don’t know much about his life before we adopted him, but I do know that his owners found him in the shelter after he had missing for two months, and released him to the shelter. He seemed pretty sad and anxious when we got him too. Now he’s a total ham (pun intended), and always has a smile on his face. He and Olivia wrestle, snuggle and play all day long. They are well-behaved enough that when they get too rambunctious, I can clap my hands and they’ll stop wrestling.

Dogs need companions. They may be your best friend, but they need their own best friend as well. If it seems like your only dog is a little depressed, maybe the answer is to get them a four-legged friend of their own. If you can’t afford another dog, consider taking your pup to a dog park-they can play with some friends for a few hours. You could also join a local Facebook group that’s meant for setting up doggy dates. Either way, for your own dog’s mental health, give them a chance to play with their own kind!