Recently, there has been what I would consider a huge change in my life (for the better). This change was that of being given the chance to obtain a puppy. Upon obtaining her, she was only 10 weeks old, and I was so surprised at the fact that at that moment I was even holding her in my arms. The reasons for my amazement at this matter included the fact that I had received my parent's approval and second, that I was able to find an honest seller through craigslist who was in fact not a scammer. With this said, I would like to say that I have learned a thing or two throughout the process of searching for a puppy, as well as having been trying to train and take care of my puppy for these past two weeks.

It had been all summer that I had been in search of a cute lil pup, of which I found many, but could never go through with as I did not have my parents' approval. Sure, even if I could have afforded every single penny of the puppy, I strongly value my parents' approval and could not go through with anything without it. Regardless of whether I had their approval or not, I kept on with the search whether it was through breeders or adoption shelters, for I could not go a day without looking for the perfect pup for me.

After going most of the summer looking through several adoption shelters, I finally turned to Craigslist, in which not everything is what it seems. This is where I learned that not all people are as honest as I would have hoped and that I am more gullible than I thought. I was so desperate to believe that all people were good, and if it had not been for my parent's skepticism, I would have most likely fallen into a scam. Not only that, but I had lost patience, so when my parents finally said yes I could hardly wait to have my new puppy.

Then one late night spent on Craigslist, I found an ad and thought, "Why not?" So I texted the number and waited. Early the next morning I could not believe my eyes when I received a text back saying that the puppy was available and ready to picked up as soon as possible. It was sudden and unexpected, but I figured that it was a sign from God that it was meant to be.

It was on that day that I received my baby Piper, and since then I have learned to be the most responsible that I have been my entire life. I learned that raising a puppy is almost like raising a child with all the sleep I've lost staying up with her, as well as the expenses for her necessities. On top of that, I have been working a full-time job, and believe it or not it is Piper who keeps me going, as food and vet appointments do not come free.

Being a pet owner is no walk in the (dog) park, but it definitely is an experience that I do not regret. I have learned the basics to detect a scam right as I see one, as well as the values of having a job and someone to come home to who loves you almost as much as you love them. After all, why work if you have nothing to work for?