There is one question that I ask my boyfriend at least three times a week and that is, "Hey babe, when can we get a dog together?" and every time I ask, the answer usually is, "Not yet, Claire," which then leads me to a sob session for about forty-five minutes. I have friends who have dogs, family members with dogs, and my boyfriend has three dogs and one cat.

Although I am always at their house, it just is not the same. I was never allowed to have a dog because my mom was very allergic and I would rather have her living than get a dog. Now do not text me and say, "But, Claire, there are hypoallergenic dogs." Yes, I know there are...my mom is still allergic to those. It is unfortunate and I will never get over it. This is not the point of the post though, the point is that I believe if I had a dog now or grew up with a dog, I may be a little different now. Barely different, but maybe a little.

I am sure you see quite a few people walking through campus with dogs. Some pets and some helper dogs. Anyways, they are all adorable and it is really hard to not stop and pet one for 20 minutes. As a child, I was such a worrier and still am to this day so something in me always wonders that if I had a really cute, cuddly dog if things would be different. That is exactly why some people have trained dogs...in order to relieve their anxiety. So why can't my mom just stop being allergic to dogs already?! I used to always tell her I was going to get one when I was older and she would respond back, " The moment you get a dog is the moment I no longer can come to visit." and that would then guilt me into changing my mind and telling her I would not get one. Fast forward two hours later and I am back to wanting one again. It is a dangerous cycle!

Back to the main point of this topic, I hope that someone is reading this and can relate to never being able to grow up with a dog. It is truly tragic. I feel for you and we are in this together. I think I want to try to have my dream dog for a week and test to see if I am less anxious. I feel like my childhood angst really would have been lessened if there was a comfy pup lying by me all the time. I hope that eventually if I get a dog, I get the best of both worlds. I hope my mom still visits me and I hope I feel better on the inside having a sweet doggy to hang around with me. I need to remember not to forget about my boyfriend who basically is taking the place of a cuddle buddy now!

If you did not get to grow up with a dog, reach out to me, let's start a club and maybe we can just go and pet dogs during club meetings.