Somepawdy once told me that getting a dog is getting a best friend furever. They weren’t wrong.

Ever since I knew how to say the word, I have wanted a DOG. I used to force my parents to take me to a local puppy shelter called “Shake a Paw” where you could go into playing rooms and cuddle with puppies all day long. Obviously, I would fall helplessly in love with every single dog I played with and dramatically beg my parents to purchase the small pupper.

As you could guess, they always said no and I would react as if the world were ending. Eventually they stopped bringing me because they knew this cycle would eventually be too traumatic for my impressionable young age.

Dogs make everything in the entire world better. They will love you unconditionally no matter who you are, what you look like, or where you come from. Dogs flout what is typical of humans and put their owner’s needs before their own. Dogs have been known to accomplish remarkable tasks and provide service to millions of people every single day. Dogs will fight for you from the harsh conditions of the military, to simply barking at someone in your living room if they feel you are annoyed. I idolized dogs my entire life, but it wasn’t until the holidays when I was fifteen years old that I would finally be able to find my forever friend.

Life without a dog could be very ruff at times, but all of that was in the past. This was the day that we were going to pick out an adorable yellow lab. Our poor little clearance puppy was the runt of the pack, and all of his brothers and sisters had been bought before him as christmas puppies. On a cold morning in mid January my family went to pick up our pup! He was actually the cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. A tiny eight week old yellow lab with paws that were two sizes too big for his body. The first thing he did when I held him for the first time was lick my face and the rest was history.

My dog, Finn, is the favorite child, and he has eight siblings so that is really saying something! He is the best boy you could ever imagine. Finn likes to take long walks to the treats jar and long naps on the couch. Whenever you rub his belly he stretches out and sometimes does an adorable yawn. Finn hates being picked up on his hind legs, or if you try to touch him while he is eating. If you want Finny to be your best friend, just give him a frozen peanut butter bone!

Finn is the only dog in our family, which gives him an insurmountable amount of love. However, Finn has 3 cousins that he absolutely adores named Atticus, Harper, and Nova. He loves to run around with his cousins and jump on them! Finn loves to play and swim at our beach house! The thing that Finn and I have most in common is how much we like to eat, lay on the couch, and receive attention!

My hardest goodbye when leaving for college was Finn. I am a triplet, and my step siblings are triplets the same age as me, so Finn was going from having eight siblings to two in just a matter of days. And the worst part about it all was that I couldn’t tell him that I was going to be back! He had no idea that I was going to miss him so much. Dogs don’t have a good perception of time, but I knew he would really miss me. The best thing about most of his siblings going off to school was how much weight Finn would lose. It’s hard to stay slim when you have eight brothers and sitsters that want to give you treats for cuddles all the time!

My favorite part about calling home is getting to see Finn on Facetime. The hilarious, and also tragic, reaction he has is staring at the phone with extreme concern and then running to the front door thinking that I am coming home. This normally results in me having a laugh attack at his cuteness, but my parents get sad because of how confused he is. But, at least he is getting to hear my voice!

Finn is the best listener you will ever find, there is no problem that can’t be solved by just telling him the situation. He will let you cuddle him to the point of no return and even start barking when/if you ever decide to stop. If you give Finn your heart, he will give you his right back. Finny is just the best boy.

I miss my dog so much, but I know that he is patiently awaiting the week long cuddle session he will get when I go home for Thanksgiving!