I vaguely remember the puppy I had when I was two years old. I knew that she was my best friend but that sadly, she passed away when someone left the front door open, which led to a busy street. What I do remember is that after that accident, I became terrified of animals. My parents bought me another puppy, a turtle, and even ducklings but it was too late. Until this day I am still scared of animals, dogs to be specific.
Whenever I see one, (and of course being at App State when do I not see one?) I try to stay as far away as possible. I hide behind my friends or try to not freak out when their owner thinks I want to pet them and brings them closer. I could never understand proud "dog moms", how they're not scared to get bitten and how they don't get tired of cleaning up after their dogs. I always knew nothing could ever change my mind.
That is, until just a few days ago when I learned my family was going to get a German shepherd puppy for my little brother. Since then, I have been trying to wrap my head around the fact that this dog is going to be huge and probably crush me to death. Everyone that knows me knows about my fear so when I told them, they thought it was the funniest thing ever. Which it really is, considering I scream when one even looks at me. The puppy we're choosing is one on the left, a girl.
But I want to prove everyone wrong. I want everyone to know that I can do this and that I won't let my fear take over. The most important reason is that I know this puppy is going to be loved. My little brother is in need of company since my sister and I are away in college and I know my parents hate having a silent home.
As for my sister and I, who are more homesick than we want to admit, when we bring the puppy to our places some weekends, it will be like having part of our family with us.
I know that having a puppy is literally like having a child. I know there's a ton of responsibilities that will come with it and that we can't just forget about it after a couple of months. It's exciting to look for names and cute tags and cute outfits, but there's much more to it than that.
I'm already committing myself to going the gym more (working on arms), to not run away from dogs when I see them, and to save money for her shots and food. I'm educating myself on German shepherds, on puppy care and training, and plan on posting pictures of her all over my Facebook.
I know there are a lot of benefits of having a dog and I keep this in mind whenever I start getting scared. I still can't believe that out of all people, I'm getting a dog. I know, as usual, I'll scream when she licks me or even looks at me, but I know I'll cry the day I meet her and I truly can't wait to face my fears and grow with her by my side.