During term one of my junior year at college, my dog passed away. She waited until I got back to school so I didn't see her suffer. The whole week I was home for break, she had been rapidly deteriorating before our eyes, but she always wagged her tail when I came around. Sadie was there for the majority of my life, with me through puberty, my first years of college, bad relationships and many surgeries. Each time something happened in my life, Sadie was there.
I didn't think I would love another dog after her. At least, not for a while. Who could ever replace my beloved pet? But as I type, my puppy sits next to me, her head buried in my lap, asking for nothing but love. And I've come to realize that Sadie hasn't been replaced. She hasn't been forgotten by a new puppy. She's been remembered for the laughs in our house. She's remembered for the time she tried to chase me to the bus, effectively running into it so we had to fix up her nose. She's remembered for every time she put her head on my lap in comfort and she'll never be forgotten.
It's been months since Sadie, and I think I can finally move on. Every dog-lover wants to ignore the fact that dogs pass much faster than humans, and I've ignored that fact for years as Sadie and I grew together. I knew when she passed that I would have a hard time getting over her to move on to a new dog.
But I don't think I could live without a best friend in my life, in dog form. Sophie (my new puppy) has taught me so much about unconditional love and tolerance. Puppies only want to romp around and then pass out in the weirdest places, whether it by my shoes, my lap, or somewhere on the floor that really doesn't look comfortable.
All dogs want from their humans is a little bit of love, and there are no ulterior motives behind their love. Humans can have lies and reasons behind wanting a person's love, but dogs just love you to love you.
And honestly, that's what we should give them too. Our unconditional love is more important to them than a degree or how good our hair looks.
I wrote an article a few weeks ago about therapy dogs and another about adopting animals, so it's kind of obvious that I'm an animal advocate. And it's days like today that remind me why. I've had a rough day, working and three hours of class in one sitting, and tonight I'll have even more work. But at the end of my shift tonight, I'll get to go home, see my dog wagging her little tail at me and she'll cuddle in my lap. She makes it all worth it. The exhaustion, the long days where I just want to sleep, she reminds me that there is such a phenomenon as unconditional love.
My dog is my best friend, and I can never thank her enough for that.
