To my best (furry) friend,

You smell sometimes, especially when you come in from outside after you’ve rolled in something gross. You get in the way and are too stubborn to move, even when I really need you to. You leave fur everywhere you go. You bark at the stupidest things, especially the refrigerator (I’ll never understand that). You attack the cat for no reason most of the time. You wake me up when all I want to do is sleep in. You give me bruises from jumping on top of me because you think you’re smaller than you actually are. You want to pee on everything when we go for walks. You ignore me when I call you. You steal my food when I’m not finished yet.

But with all of those things, you also make a great pillow to cry into when I’m having a rough day. You’re always able to cheer me up when you walk into the room with that big, dorky smile on your face. Even though you can’t talk, you’re a great listener when I need to rant to someone about life. You make me laugh when you crash into walls because you can’t stop running fast enough. You get so excited when you see my car pull into the driveway every time I come home. You put on your cutest puppy-dog face whenever you want me to pet you, and it melts my heart every time. You follow me into every room of the house so you always know where I am. You always act tough when you meet new people, especially men, just so they know you’re my guard dog and they can’t mess with me. You eat my leftovers when I can’t finish all of my food, which makes me feel good about wasting less. You always give me kisses, sometimes sloppier than I would prefer, but that’s okay. Most importantly, you love me unconditionally.

So, sometimes you’re a pain in my ass, but I wouldn’t have it any other way because you also make a pretty rockin’ sidekick.

I know you’ve only been in my life for a short time, but I don’t know what I would do without you. I never thought I could love an animal as much as I love you. Thank you for showing me that clothes, shoes, purses and jewelry aren’t a woman’s best friend; dogs are.

I love you, buddy, and I always will,

Your girl