I have always been and always will be an avid animal lover. I love animals of all kinds, but the one type of animal that will always have my heart is dogs.

My dog is absolutely my best friend. A lot of non-animal lovers don’t understand this when I tell them, but it’s true. No friend will ever be there for me or love me the way my dog does.

My dog is a beautiful blue-nose brindle pit-bull terrier. She is a 7-year-old rescue dog (#RescueDontBuy). Her name is Serenity, which is perfect for her because that is truly what she brings to my life.

But having a best friend comes with trials and tribulations. For me and my best friend, our biggest obstacle in our relationship is me being away at college.

Saying good to my best friend is honestly the most difficult part about leaving for school. Of course, I love my mom and dad and my siblings and I will always miss my hometown friends. But I can always text them or call them up when I need to hear from them. It’s different when it comes to dogs.

The amount of times I’ve asked my mom to “put my dog on the phone” or “let me skype with the dog” is actually absurd. My mom even sends me weekly updates on my best friend, sending me new pictures she’s taken of her.

But as soon as we hang up the phone or I save those photos to my camera roll, I break down in tears because I miss her so much.

Probably the worst part of being away from her, though, is when I see other dogs on campus. It makes me miss her twice as much. My best friend got a dog last year as a service animal and when she brought her home I bawled my eyes out because I wanted my dog back so much. I’ll always love dogs and I get excited when I see them on campus, but at the same time I am reminded of how much I miss my own dog.

Not to mention, college can be hella stressful, and being stressed out without my goofy best friend by my side really sucks. No one can make me smile as much as she can.

But that’s what makes her the best part about coming home. There is nothing like walking through my front door only to have that cute, furry face greet me. Being reunited with my best friend is the best feeling in the world.

Even though it’s hard to be away from her, it makes being reunited with her all that much better. I will always love my best friend.