In light of recent events, and by recent I mean just hours before I wrote this, I thought I’d talk about what it’s like to have a pet - especially living with dogs, since my mom just brought home a puppy, called Bruno, from the shelter.

Now, in my house, there was a dog and a rabbit before there were even children. My mom had grown up with them and is extremely good at teaching dogs to behave. When our first dog, Max, was a puppy, my mom made sure to pretend to eat his food, steal his toys and other things kids might do to him. So, when we did come along, none of that phased him. From then on, we’ve grown up always having at least one dog in the house. When we were old enough, we even had hamsters and fish at certain times.

Growing up with a dog gives you another playmate. Our first dog, Max, was obsessed with fetching tennis balls. When we weren’t tossing balls around, we were playing in the kiddie pool with him, trying to shove his face under the water. We were always stealing his toys and trying to get him to do tricks. Our second dog, Hershey, was the brightest dog we’ve ever had and was much more responsive to learning tricks; she even shook her head vertically when we asked her if she wanted something, like food.

This also leads to getting more exercise, whether it’s chasing your dog around because she’s stolen your underwear again, or walking her to the park. Hershey was especially well-behaved in that she always stayed by your side, so I often took her out running with me. My brother likes to hit and throw balls around the yard, keeping in practice for baseball. Sometimes you’re also left with retrieving the ball because your dog is too dopey to find it; that would be Snickers, our third and current dog, whom we got when Hershey was three so that she could have a playmate; she has all the energy and can be very smart, but is not the best at finding the ball she just saw leave your hand.

They can be napping buddies. My mom has so many pictures of us when we were young, asleep on Max in a spot of sunshine on the dining room floor. Even today, she bought these two bean bag chairs to make it easier for her to sit near the dogs on their pillows; she even uses them as pillows, now.

Most importantly, dogs and many other pets are just great companions. Their unconditional love and company is something that stays with you. It is not something that can really be explained, but must be experienced; I’m really sorry for those of you whom are allergic to animals.

There also seems to be a breed for every lifestyle, whether you hunt, farm, or live a very domestic life. Having a pet can even be great for stress relief; even the act of just petting your beloved animal is said to have great health benefits.

I cannot speak for hamsters, though. I swear my last one was an actual ninja; he somehow made it out of his cage that was a ten-gallon aquarium with a dictionary on top. He even somehow made it out of the hamster ball I had him rolling around in multiple times. Gave me a heart attack every time.

Having a pet, especially, but not limited to, dogs is something I would recommend to anyone looking for someone to love and care for as long as they have the means.