So if you know me at all, you know that I am most definitely a dog person. One of the hardest parts of going to school far away is missing my daily cuddle dates with my dog. When I was packing for school, I literally almost cried when he kept sniffing my bags and pouting. The best feeling in the world is walking through the door and getting half-tackled by my pup who thinks he is more than a foot tall and fully believes I have been gone for more than two minutes to get the mail. When I am at home, he does everything with me. When I drive to the store he knows he will be my shotgun rider and we might even stop at a park if he is on his best behavior. He takes uncooperative selfies with me so that I can show almost every person I know how cute he is. He begs at my feet for the entirety of my cooking lunch because he knows he will more than likely get some scraps. He watches "Grey’s Anatomy" with me and let’s be real, he is kind of my person… except not because he is a dog, but we really do love that show. If you are starting to get the picture, I more than likely spend more time with him then I do with other people.

I am thankful to have him for a number of reasons. For starters, he is an excellent listener. I have not gone totally bonkers, I do realize dogs cannot give advice, but I often catch myself talking to him and it almost always makes me feel better. I do believe dogs can sense when we are upset and know to love on their humans a little extra on those days. I am thankful for his enthusiasm. How can I be sad when he comes up to me wagging his tail proudly with a toy in his mouth for me to throw. He is so excited just for me to spend time playing with him, without any other cares in the world. I am thankful he thinks my feet/legs/stomach/face/neck are all places that are acceptable for him to plop down and attempt to sleep. He keeps me so warm and safe every time he cuddles up with me. I am thankful that he is mighty. He shows courage by chasing down any intruder (like a fly) with his incredibly “scary” barking and howling (again less than a foot tall).

When it comes to the end of the day, I am thankful to come home to that fur ball, he truly is a woman’s best friend. I love that his heart is so big and beats to show love to me, my family, and an unusual amount of tennis balls. I can’t imagine my life without him as he is without a doubt part of the family. His short legs most definitely ran away with my whole heart a long time ago, don’t tell my fiancé.