I've never been much of a people person. I prefer spending my time around animals. I grew up with pets my entire life—there has never been a point in my life where I didn't have a pet. In fact, most of my life I've always had at least one dog and one cat in my house. I've always thought I understood what it meant to have a pet, to have a connection with an animal. There was no possible way I could fully understand that connection until I got my own pet. Not my parent's pet, not the family cat, but mypet. An animal that depends on me, an animal that I take care of, an animal who is excited to see me when I get home.

Meet Axel. Isn't he majestic?

This goofball is my absolute best friend. He plays fetch better than any dog I have ever met, he likes showing off his big belly by laying on his back and even after two years of life he is still unable to gracefully use his claws.

I got Axel during one of the hardest years of my life. After transferring to a brand new university and knowing absolutely no one, I felt alone. A mixture of bad decisions and many personal and emotional struggles left me in a position of complete desolation.

He was there through the depression and the loneliness, through all of the self-deprecating thoughts and the desires to give up, he was there. He never faltered in his love and appreciation for me. He didn't see me as a nuisance when I would cry non-stop from my emotional struggles, he didn't look down on me when I struggled academically and he didn't leave me alone when I felt like everyone wanted to abandon me. He was there through it all.

Pets will do that for you. Even when you are at your lowest, they don't look down on you, they don't think less of you, they don't abandon you because your problems are of no interest to them. Their hearts of full of love for you and everything that you are. They do not see your faults or your struggles, they do not judge you for your short comings. Pets supersede humans in that regard. They are capable of showing unconditional love and compassion.

Axel is my best friend. He's the one that I know will always be there for me. Through every failure and every defeat, he will be there for me. Always looking up to me, always allowing me to lean on him. I know he'll be there meowing at me every day, the second I get home, "telling" me how his day went. He'll always be there to hide so he can jump out and attack my feet when I walk by (then run away immediately so I can't catch him). He will always be there to keep the consistency in my life. Even when I feel like everything is falling apart, he will be there to hold that part of my life up.