I can still remember the day I returned from school to see that my parents had brought home our new, adorable Goldendoodle puppy. I was in third grade, and had begged my parents for a dog, probably, ever since I learned how to speak. When I saw that squirming little body, the tiny black nose, and the velvety-soft ears, I fell in love right away.

With our pets, we develop some of the deepest and most unique relationships. They provide a silent companionship that somehow provides the greatest sense of security, whether we’re having a good or bad day. We talk to them when we can’t talk to anyone else and we love coming home to them after a long day, seeing those ears perk up when we walk through the door.

Heading to college was one of the hardest things I had to do, not because I was leaving my family, but because I was leaving my dog. With my family, I could call and text them anytime I wanted. With my dog, I walked out the door knowing I wouldn’t be able to tell her that I missed her.

At the time I left for college, my dog Ginger had been fighting bladder cancer for the past nine months, and was losing her energy as time went on. I left thinking I’d see her at Thanksgiving. But hardly a week into the fall semester, my parents called me, telling me they’d put her down.

The week after I got the news was one of the most difficult I’d ever been through. To me, losing a pet is the same as losing a family member. As a brand new freshman I didn’t have many people to talk to. I called some friends at home for advice, and although talking to them helped, others couldn’t quite understand the impact of losing a pet because they hadn’t gone through it themselves. So, I kept my emotions to myself, feeling guilty that I somehow wasn’t giving her the love she deserved because I was busy with school, or wanted to go out with friends.

Now, as I’m heading home for the first time since I left for school in August, I think it’s important to reflect upon an event that many students will end up going through during their college years. If you are coping with the loss of your pet, or if it unfortunately comes to happen to you in the future, I’m telling you it won’t be easy. I wish I had been there for her in her final moments, as she was for me throughout my entire childhood. I wish I could come home each night and cuddle and play with her. And most of all, I wish that when I head home for the holidays, she’d be there to greet me at the door with pattering feet and a friendly wag.

As I write this, I can’t help but feel the same surge of emotions that I felt when I got the phone call from my parents just a few months ago. However, I’ve realized that as I move on to this new chapter in my life, the memories of Ginger will remain with me. Perhaps our childhood pets aren’t meant to move on with us as we graduate to the real world because their purpose was to help us through that chapter of our lives. They were there to provide us support as we transitioned from the difficult middle school days to the ever more complicated high school ones.

Loving an animal is one of the most fulfilling and heartwarming aspects of our lives, and losing one is absolutely heartbreaking. Our childhood pets will never be forgotten. Although we miss them dearly, their absence makes room for growth, strength, and maybe even a new pet in the future.