Dogs. What is not to love about them? They are so sweet, cute and lovable. It is pretty stereotypical for a child to want one. I admit that when I was a kid, I was an outlier. I have never really wanted a dog. I had gone through many pets in my childhood years and I never really thought that getting a big, slobbering animal was a good idea. My mom had a dog when she was a kid and she would always tell stories about it running away and her having to chase it for hours to get it back. She also would tell me countless times that her dog, Princey would always poop on the floor, even when it got older. The thought of that made me sick. Why would I want to have an animal in my house that poops all over the floor! What if it pooped in my room, or my bed, or even worse, on my sparkly, pink, light-up Skechers!

My brother, on the other hand, loved dogs. He did not care where it pooped or if it shed all over his room. He and I fought a lot about getting a dog. He would doodle pictures of them on his homework and come up with names for our potential puppy. I knew that puppies were cute and lovable, but there were also a lot of cons. Did I mention the pooping?

3 years ago my family decided to make the big decision about getting a dog. I was furious. They did not even take my opinions into consideration! It was 3 against one and they obviously won. The rest of my family came to the conclusion that they wanted a miniature Goldendoodle. At least it would not shed as much, so that would not be a big problem. When I saw the pictures online of my future four-footed pup, I was a little worried. My mom told me that the only day to pick up my new puppy was during my best friends birthday party. I wanted to spend my best friend’s birthday with her and have a once and a lifetime experience in the city! Plus, because I did not really care as much, I decided to just let my family go without me. So, I decided to go into the city instead of picking out the dog.

I had so much fun going into the city with my friends that I forgot about the new pup. It was not until the car ride back home, that I realized that I would finally be meeting that little stinker. When I got home my parents had the puppy wrapped in their arms. I put my things down in my room and did not really talk to my family that much. My brother was smiling and almost crying because he was so happy. My mom made me come over into the living room and be with them while they were introducing the dog to its new home. My dad picked up the puppy out of my mom’s arms and gave it to me. “It is a girl, he said, Lucy”. I gently lifted her into my lap and looked into her little brown eyes. My parents were biting their lips, hoping that I would maybe change my mind. I gazed at my new puppy and my immediate reaction was to smile. I quickly stopped to show my family that I would not change my mind. I could not hold it in any longer, so I burst out smiling again. She was just so cute! Her little, button nose, her tiny paws and her cute tongue that licked my fingertips. My family could not believe their eyes. I imagined the nights we would have together, all the times we would play outside and all the love she would bring into my life. I started thinking, maybe having a dog was not so bad.

I set her down and looked up at my mom to tell her that I wanted her! Right before I could get the words out, the puppy started pooping. On the floor. Right in front of me. I looked down at the poop and then looked up at my brother who was running out of the room to get out of cleaning it up. I knew this was going to happen. I realized that even though there were many cons of having a dog, I was going to be able to push through it. Maybe it would be better for me in the long run to keep her. My mom was reaching for a plastic doggy bag when I took it from her. “I will do it” I stated. I looked at the bag,  grabbed it, cleaned it up and walked it over to the garbage can. I came back and looked at my new puppy. Her little ears perked up as I whispered, “I love you”.