Whenever I walk through the door of my house, whether I was coming home from college or work, my dog was always on the loveseat, waiting for me to come over and give her our routine pet and cuddle. Going away to college has been rough because I lost that general routine with my dog. Coming in the door and saying, "Hold on Bella, let me put my stuff down." And then going and snuggling her, telling her about my upcoming exam or about the kids at work that day. Now, I just come back to my dorm room and get ready to work on homework.

My dog was my best friend for many reasons, including some silly ones or ones that people will think are weird. When we got our dog, I deep down didn't even want a puppy. I enjoyed it just being our family and the evil cat who lives in my sister's room now. And when we first got her, I wasn't still a big fan of her because she would bite my ankles or steal my blankets. My mom said she would do this because I wouldn't pay attention to her much, which at the time was true. But something changed and suddenly we were the best of snuggle buddies. The number of times my parents would come home with the dog and I sleeping on the couch, with Netflix running in the background was a very common setting to see.

One main problem with this is that she weighs the same as I do, if not a little less. See, my dog is a Cane Corso Mastiff. She is 140lbs of fluff and couch potato love. So as you can imagine, she takes up the entire loveseat and then there is me, trying to squish in where there is limited space. But that is only if she is sitting there before me.

I know that we are both excited for me to come home this spring break and can cuddle as much as possible. Whenever I video call my parents, she begins to look around for me because she can hear me but not see me. We even had to create a plan for my dad to let her out the front door and run up to the car when I get home Friday because she will more than likely pee out of excitement.

And then I will have 10 days to tell her all about college and the ups and downs I have faced while here the last couple weeks. My dog is my best friend because she listens to me when I need someone to talk to. She is there for me when I am struggling to do my homework and helps keep me on my toes when a break is needed in between assignments. She knows when I am upset or mad at someone and tries to comfort me by leaning against me and snuggling. My dog has done nothing but becomes one of the best things in my life. As she gets older, and I know her time is coming, I will always love her.