The best thing about Loki is probably how adorable he is. All puppies are cute, but this dog has stolen my heart. He has a pink and black nose and I think it's the cutest thing. Having him around melts my heart. Sometimes when I'm stressed with my online class or just tired, I go downstairs and find him and snuggle him for a minute. He is so small so I can just scoop him up and suddenly I feel much better.

Having him around this summer has been great, but there are definitely a few downsides to having a new puppy in the house.

He's a mutt, so some of his features don't match any one breed

He's very cute but he bites EVERYTHING. He is teething and he is rowdy so he constantly tries to put his teeth on something. He constantly tries to bite me unless I shove a toy (or his tail) into his mouth. He is quiet and snuggly when he's tired, but that is rare. Mostly he wants something to attack. It is very cute to watch him rip the stuffing out of a toy, but less cute when he tries to bite my arm off.

He is a great source of exercise. The best way to motivate yourself to work out is to enjoy your work out. Loki makes running around the backyard or going for a walk way more fun. I took him for his first ever big boy walk in our neighborhood once he had all his shots and he ran all over sniffing everything. Walking is very boring to me, but watching him sniff every blade of grass made it more fun.

Like humans, dogs don't really understand where they should pee when they're small. We had to teach him that the bathroom = outside and he still doesn't always get it. He likes to sleep in my sister's bed, and she often wakes up to find a present under her desk. This is unfortunate, but Loki is worth the pain. Invest in lots of paper towels and stain remover and push through the early months.

Loki is very needy. This is both a positive and a negative. I love having him sit on my lap or next to me or want to play with me, but sometimes I really need to get some work done and he won't let me. Loki was abandoned, so I understand why he is needy, and I rarely mind. He is a very snuggly dog and wants to always be touching at least one human.

I have to pull up a chair just for him to sit by me

It's weird trying to miss Oliver (our previous dog) with a new puppy around. Oliver died while I was at college and my family adopted Loki before I finished the semester. I came home briefly for Easter weekend in between dogs and it was a very strange feeling. When I came home I expected a dog to come greet me and it didn't happen. So while I'm glad I only had to spend about 24 hours at home with no dog there, it still catches me off guard sometimes when I think about Ollie. He was a wonderful dog and we got him when I was only 5, so while I love Loki, I still miss Ollie.

Our old dog Oliver

But Loki brought smiles back to our house. We were all incredibly attached to Oliver and not having him around made us all very sad. I've seen many more smiles on my family's faces since we got our new puppy. He brought laughter and joy back to our house that we really needed. We weren't all depressed without a dog, but we really needed Loki.

If you're debating adopting a new dog after yours passed away, or just getting your first one, I definitely recommend it. Puppies are a lot of work, but they're so worth it. Plus they won't need tuition money in 18 years.