About three summers ago, I arrived home to an unlikely surprise. A panting, honey-colored mammal looked at me with its big, brown eyes. As I set down the shopping bags from the mall for my upcoming trip to Europe, I analyzed the situation. Why was this thing in my living room? How did it get here? Who are these other people? Was this my sister’s idea? Then I heard those four magic words that every kid dreams about: We got a dog!

Oh, no. This is not good. I am not a dog person. How am I supposed to take care of a dog? I’ve had a cat as a pet my entire life, but they basically take care of themselves, ya know? No matter the amount of dissent I felt about having a dog, this 50-pound fur ball was not leaving any time soon.

After the questions were asked and the previous owners left our home, my sister, dad and I were now the new owners of Jaxx, a one-year-old Golden Retriever. OK, the dog was pretty cute, but there was a needed discussion to be had. Jaxx had been through multiple owners through his short one year of life, so there must be a catch for us to receive this dog for free. In the next few weeks, we quickly found out why.

In the morning, we had all slept in and woke up to a foul smell. A steamy pile of dog poo was awaiting us in the middle of the hardwood floor. We all looked at each other and the dog, and knew that there was going to be a huge change in our schedules and lifestyle choices because we weren't going to give up on this helpless creature. We began to learn how to take care of Jaxx and talked to other dog owners. We researched all of the necessities for a Golden Retriever and began to become comfortable with our new pooch. Although we learned enough to become dog experts, a dog is almost like a child, and there is no one there to warn you about what’s going to happen next.

We soon found out that Jaxx couldn’t stay in a kennel because he suffered from separation anxiety. Since the kennel didn’t work out, it was more comfortable for him to roam the house when we were gone. Even though this was better for him, you can imagine the things we came home to. Chewed cords, empty cat food containers, missing loaves of bread, ruined boots, soiled carpet, stuffing ripped out of the couch, spilled laundry detergent, and other endless accounts that I still tell people about. This behavior soon ended and we became extremely attached to Jaxx, but there was one thing we never discussed.

Our loving, intelligent canine had gone through multiple families and no one wanted him. If his previous owners hadn’t found a new family for him, he would have been put down. That fact still breaks my heart to this day considering our society is known to buy purebred puppies and then get rid of them like old rags. Jaxx is an amazing companion and he wants to be around humans every chance he can get. He nudges his head against your hand if you stop petting him and he is always there to greet you at the door with a huge smile. The only thing he ever wants to do is make people happy and lay in the grass all day long. He has changed our lives for the better.

I truly cannot picture our lives without Jaxx. Everyone loves him. He obsesses over tennis balls and squeaker toys, and torments the smaller mutts at the dog park. He tries to steal human food from pizza slices to peanut butter pretzel bites. He chases our old cat and sits on peoples’ laps even though he weighs 70 pounds. Jaxx is our

best friend, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.