Growing up, I can't seem to remember a time where I came home and didn't have my four-legged friend meet me at the door. As soon as we drove up I swear I could hear my boxer-terrier and beagle-basset hound rescues barrel through the house, barking and howling so that we would know much they missed us while we were gone for soooo long. I don't know what it is, but there is just something about a long day, bad day, or even a good day that is made 10 times better just by seeing and feeling the love that your dog radiates towards you after not seeing you for over 10 minutes. The slobbery kisses, shrieks of excitement, and jumping on you that follow the initial open of the door can make all your worries wash away like they never happened. This is what it's like to own a dog.

Good times, bad times, times when your dog needs to go to the bathroom at 2 AM and it's a blizzard outside, times when they get into the trash, times when they chew up your favorite shoes (or any other worldly possession you might have cared about), and everything else that may drive you crazy about them; they're always there for you. They love you unconditionally because that's what they were put on Earth to do. Their bad habits are the bad habits you created, like the whining for food at the table because you can't help but slip them a piece of chicken off of your plate.

I don't know what we did to deserve the soft licks when tears roll down your face, or the picture-perfect poses that we can't help but snap a couple hundred photos of to show the world. Somehow we were and are lucky enough to watch these kind-hearted, all loving, so annoying (in the best way) dogs grow up and old right before our eyes. That is what's so hard. How can something this good only last for 10-11 years (a little bit more if you're one of the lucky ones)? These animals are with us for some of the most important times of our lives: going to college, getting married, having babies, experiencing loss, and so much more. They are for you and with you when nobody else is, so why can't they be around for longer?

I found myself asking this when one of my best pals was having some bad health problems last week.

Let me start with this: my black, beagle-basset hound, Gus, whined incessantly for EVERYTHING; food, to go to the bathroom, for attention, so that you would sneak him more food, for treats, for a pat on the head, to get on the bed, and so much more. There was a such a love-hate relationship about it because I swear sometimes he would just whine to be a part of the conversation that was going on. I won't lie, it could get pretty annoying when you didn't know what he wanted.

He also had a tail like no other that was a little bit bent at the the end and it NEVER stopped wagging. If he was in another room and I wondered where he was, I swear he had a 6th sense because all of a sudden I would hear the banging of his tail on the floor, or on the coffee table. That tail was like a weapon, the happier he got the faster it went back and forth potentially bruising you. Aside from his tail that could always give you a good laugh, he had these big, brown eyes that made me melt into a puddle and are most likely why he got a treat even when he wasn't whining.

Gus really never failed to make me smile. He was the one wide awake, laying in my bed, ready to cuddle when I got home late at night. He was the one that wouldn't let me get away with a "midnight snack" unless he got something too. He was the one that knew no personal space and was always trying to get closer to me, and he would even nuzzle the door open when I went to the bathroom just to sit with me. He was the one I would talk to in my room when there was no one there to listen. I could always count on him to make me feel better on the crappiest of days. He was an all around goofy dog that knew love better than any person I have ever meet.

Saying my final goodbye to him last week was one of the single, hardest things that I have ever done. The whole time I hugged him he looked at me like he knew what was going on, yet he was calmer than ever, putting his head in my lap, radiating the strongest sense of peace I have ever felt with him.

It's hard to open the door and know that he won't be there, and the bed is a lot bigger and lonelier than I ever remember it being. It's hard to know that we made the right choice because no animal that gives you complete joy and love for years on end deserves to suffer. It's hard to comprehend that an animal can take up just as much room in your heart as a person, and some non-animal lovers may not agree or ever understand.

I think that it's okay to be sad even if people think "it's just a dog". They are a huge part of your growing as a person and they help guide you through some of the toughest times in your life. They don't care what you look like, how much money you have, how many friends you have, or anything else. They want you and your love and nothing more but to give you the love you deserve. It's important to focus on all the good times and memories they gave you that will last a lifetime.

I don't know what we did to deserve dogs, but somehow we got lucky enough to have them in our lives.