It was a blazing hot summer day in the private neighborhood I grew up in. Little did I know my life would change — in a good way. It was a typical carefree day where I would be outside all hours of the day. In the tight-knit block I grew up on, I spent my nights and days with my neighborhood pals. Always a wide range from as young as five to as old as 17. My family was still adjusting to this new welcoming environment as we had only moved in about a year ago. Boy, were my brother, sister and I lucky to have moved into such a hospitable community. Later that day, we would have a joyful surprise in our family.

The moments we dreaded were when Mom and Dad called us in from outside. This time, it was for something out of the ordinary. At the time I was too naive to connect the dots that my dad called us home only to distract us. Arriving minutes later was my mom. She came home with a school supplies box and a basket; this was a weird situation. As a family, we went around in a circle to try to guess what the surprise held. Our parents convinced us that inside the pencil box were tickets to some extravagant destination. The agitated and intense game of guessing what was hidden gave us agony. Finally after guessing for what felt like hours for a five-year-old, eight-year-old, and an eleven-year-old, we were astonished to find out what the surprise held.

As the oldest, I volunteered to open the box that was holding a bundle that would influence and nurture our lives for the next ten years and counting. Delicately, I lifted the towels in the white laundry basket, we were not expectingwhat was wrapped comfortably inside. Resting peacefully inside the towels was a precious puppy. This sleepy-eyed creature was completely content wrapped in towels. She was curled up in the typical dog pose to stay comfortable. I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on Maggie. My siblings and I jumped with glee — here all along we expected to be finding tickets for a family holiday to Disney World or off our continent.

She was as sweet as a months-old puppy could be. She liked to sleep and had little to no interest in exploring her new home. My mom had traveled an hour north from our home to adopt her from a local shelter. Maggie is a survivor; about a week after she adjusted to her new family she became extremely sick. Her illness was life threatening (she must have caught a virus from the shelter). This little sweetie fought this sickness like a trooper and is still going strong ten years later. Maggie is still the energetic yet lazy puppy we have grown to love. To all the dog lovers our there, your fluffy friend can bring so much joy to your lives just like Maggie has been doing for my family.