My Unprescribed Medication: A Letter To My Dog

College is hard enough as it is with studying, classes, work, and trying to maintain a social life. Add anxiety, or any other mental illness into the mix and some days can feel like they are impossible to get through for the smallest reasons. The issue could be a test you feel like you are not well prepared for or even something minor like you have to somehow find time to get your laundry done today because you have run out of clean underwear. You're then stressing until the task or issue is resolved. My dog somehow manages to always get me through those days; she has become my unprescribed medication.

A dog really has no sole purpose on this planet other than being a companion. They do not play an important part in the environmental ecosystem, they do not pollinate plants, they do not provide us oxygen to breathe, but instead they provide us with something else that is needed to survive: love and affection. It sounds silly but I have an indescribable type of bond with my dog. She knows when something is bothering me, will come snuggle up, and give me a bunch of kisses. The problem is instantly gone when this occurs. She is one of my best friends and I am forever grateful that I got to grow up with such a great companion. The fact that she helps me get through stressful days just makes our relationship much stronger.

Seeing her smiling face when I return home from class, tail wagging and barking is one of my favorite sights to see. Just seeing how happy she is to see me makes me happy, even on my saddest days. it makes all of the hardships of owning a dog all worth it in the end.

I do not feel as if all animals have this type of relationship with their owners, however. It takes a certain type of bond and attachment for an animal to become accustomed to a person's behaviors; it takes tons of hours spent together for the animal to learn a person's good mood from bad. The type of bond I have adapted to have with my dog has taken many years to grow.

I feel like this dog was sent to me, meant to be with me, to help me through my hardest days. She never fails to make any day easier to get through and she does it all by just showing me she adores me.