We all have been in the position before where you walk into the pet store the day of a pet adoption, or when you happen to be online and a person posts a picture of a cute puppy that is looking for a new home. Our first reaction, being human, would be to want it and want it now. We seem to want to do anything and everything in our power to talk that cute little thing home with us and call it our own. We suddenly think that we are the most responsible person on this planet to take care of such a cute little baby. I mean, who would not want to be a new parent to such a cute thing? And how hard could it be--it's sleeping now, and it should be in that stage for a long while right?

Au contraire, this is not the case. I fell to this pattern like so many other people my age do. I feel like so many college kids feel like they are ready for that big step to become a dog owner. Well, it's not as easy as it was when I lived with my parents and had other dogs growing up. I fell in the pattern that I call the puppy blues: you want to take care of that cute little thing and won't stop at anything till you have that cuddly thing in your bed with you at night.

Well, let me tell you, I won't trade my cute little lab for the world, but my life has sure changed. Here are the ways it has changed for the good and the bad:

1. You have that constantly soft thing to pet when you are in a bad mood: When I have a long day at work or just a bad day in general, I can come home to Remi, and he instantly makes me feel better
2. Your bank account will be less full. You think having a child is expensive; so is a dog child. All those puppy vet appointments add up along with the puppy classes and all the cute accessories you need for your puppy.
3. Your sleep will be decreasing. When you have a puppy, it's like having a newborn baby. You will have to get up when they get up to go to the bathroom to help train them
4. Potty training might be the hardest thing you will have to do. My dog isn’t the smartest tool in the shed right now. And when it comes to potty training, it's like I take him outside one second and he looks at me then I take him inside and he pees.
5. You will have a constant partner to go anywhere and everywhere with. I take Remi anywhere I can. Even if dogs are not allowed, I take him with me and sneak him in. He is my partner in crime.
6. When you don’t have a significant other in your life, your pets are there to take the place and love you when no one else does. When I first bought Remi, I didn’t have a boyfriend. I was able to put all my love into him (which I still do) and treat him like he is the only little man in my life.
7. You have excuses to talk in a weird voice now. I talk to my dog as if he is a child or a little baby--which in some cases he still is. People look at me like I am crazy, but I feel that he is my child and I can talk to him in whatever voice I would like to.
8. You can come up with any and every nickname in the books to call your dog. His name goes from a single name to a billion by the time he is 5 months old. He then starts to come to everything he hears because of all the side names you come up with. My dog has about five little nicknames I call him.
9. If you are looking for a partner in life, you can use your puppy as a way to pick up the other person. Either a chick magnet or a guy magnet, it will work every time.
10. You have a reason to take days off at work. When I first got Remi I treated him like he was a new baby, so I needed to stay home with him while he was getting used to his area. I needed him to be comfortable before I left him at home.
11. You will learn to leave nothing out or on your floor. Your room will become magically clean all the time because if it isn’t, you will no longer have that cute pair of wedges you just bought or will lose the strap of your North Face backpack, because the cute little puppy you had to have got bored and chewed it off because you left it out.
12. You grow up fast, you learn responsibility and learn how to take care of something that needs you to live.
13. Your friends will always want to hang out with you because you have this cuddly little fur baby that everyone wants to hold and pet. You are suddenly blessed with instant babysitters for an hour.
14. Everyone wants to watch your puppy for you because he is just so cute. When they say that, you laugh at them and say, "okay, go ahead, for an hour, because that is all you can handle. Once he goes crazy, you will want to give him back to me."
15. You have a reason to stay fit. Puppies need exercise to calm down and relax at night; this gives you a reason to get off your butt and take your dog for a run or walk and gives you an opportunity to stay in shape.
16. The life of doing what you want or staying where you want has changed as you need to go home and be with the dog or have to find others to watch your dog while you are out having fun. Think of when you go on a vacation: you can’t just up and leave now; you need to find a puppy sitter--one that you can trust to do a good job
17. Your life will turn into a schedule and if you are a few minutes late at feeding time, they will tell you.
18. They become a built-in alarm clock. They wake up when you need to get up, so you stay on track with what time you should be up and getting places.
19. You are blessed with something to always love you.
20. When you are sad they know how to sit there and look at you with those cute puppy dog eyes, lick the tears off your face and lay on your lap