When people ask me if I'm a mom, I always respond with, "Of course I am." Then I proceed to describe my child as, "a little ball of sunshine with big brown eyes and a really cute old man beard." That usually gets their attention. At this point, they want to see a picture, so they can witness this little baby with an old man beard themselves. I get an eye roll every time when I pull out this picture, and my little baby is actually four-legged and hairy all over.

This is a struggle that every dog parent has encountered at some point. If you're anything like me, it happens on more like an everyday basis. While there are a few struggles to being a dog parent, there are many more joys to being the parent of a perfect furry creature.

Seeing how happy they get when you come home after a long day

When they comfort you if you're sad

How proud they are of learning new tricks

The way they don't see your flaws and love you unconditionally

When they cuddle up next to you in the bed when you're sleeping

The fact that they are the best friend any human could ever imagine

I don't know what we did to deserve dogs, but we are unbelievably lucky to have our furry pals by our side through it all. Being a dog parent is an extremely fulfilling job, and they make it so easy.