No one really could have prepared me for leaving my dog hundreds of miles behind when I left for college a year ago. Some may think I am crazy, but my dog is without a doubt one of my best friends. He is always willing to go for a walk when I have the urge to get up and get on the move and is always just as willing to lay on the couch with his head on my lap as I watch a movie. So, in my dorm room my freshman year, my heart would hurt missing the constant sound of his panting and the fur I would find on nearly every article of clothing I owned. Missing a best friend is hard, especially when that best friend has no idea why I left him hundreds of miles away.

Dogs. I am almost completely convinced to believe that they are one of the most inspiring and powerful creatures on this planet. Dogs to me, mean way more than just being cute pets, but are a special gift to humanity--a bundle of constant happiness. Dogs can sense a human's emotions, are insanely intelligent, are capable of physically being there for a human without verbal communication, and are in love with love. Dogs are born to be completely and utterly in love with love. In love with giving love. In love with receiving love. And to me, that is pretty powerful. So in a world filled with so much hate and violence, I could only hope that everyone could embody the best-friend qualities embodied by dogs and move through life with their fun-loving mindset: a life of fur infatuated with loving everyone and everything--except for thunderstorms. My dog has never once discriminated against a person's age, gender, race, or any other aspect of one's being--he just wants to give and receive love at any hour of any day.

My dog, Oliver, when brought into our family over four years ago may have been one of the best things to have ever happened to me, and if you are a dog person, you would understand. He has brought out so many laughs as he pounces on his stuffed animals that I throw across our living room. He has laid with me in bed resting his body on mine as I have crumbled after a bad day. He has made me feel appreciated and wanted as he would cry outside of my bedroom door to be let in to see and love me. Those are the things that make my dog one of my very best friends in just his four short years being a part of my family.

Being away from my dog while at college, has allowed me to discover the amount of appreciation and inspiration I have for these awesome creatures. Whenever I see a picture of my dog from home or see dogs being walked across my new home, Chicago, my heart is immediately filled with happiness--that has gotta say something. Dogs have the power to make me feel instant, genuine happiness. Dogs have the power to hear all that I have to say even though they can't respond back. Dogs have the power to comfort me in sparking either laughter or evoking tears. And most importantly, dogs have the power to be my very best friend.