On April 15th, my dog, Rosie, turned ten years old. This event has recently caused me to reflect on how my dog has changed my life and how significant to me she truly is. 

To start at the beginning, I have always loved dogs and have begged my parents for one since I was very young. I point out the dogs I see wherever I go to the point where, mid-conversation or sentence, I will blurt out “DOG” and then continue on as if that was a completely normal thing to do. I wrote persuasive essay after persuasive essay in school, begging and begging my parents for a dog. But one of the barriers between me and having my own dog was the fact that my father was allergic. 

Eventually, the search for a ‘hypoallergenic’ dog began. Let’s skip ahead to when we found my dog’s parents. My parents took me and my sister to a house with many puppies inside it. My dad met them as I pointed at a bed of puppies, announcing I wanted them all. I was little, so I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but it was soon decided that we would be getting a dog from the next puppy litter. And then began one of the longest waits of my life. My mom told my sister and me that our dog was born while we were walking home from school one day. She showed us a picture of my dog’s mom and all of the puppies. My mom had already decided which of the puppies she wanted, but my dad told her it was unlikely we would end up with that specific dog. We were sent pictures as the dogs grew; puppies next to lip balms and markers to show how big they were until they reached a size where we could go visit them. And eventually, we did. Most of the puppies were trying to get to us for attention, but one puppy sat still and calm, just looking at us. This dog was wearing a collar with the number one on it. This meant she was already claimed by someone, and this dog turned out to be the dog we had wanted. Unfortunately, we were not first in line to choose. Nonetheless, by some miracle, the people in front of us had conflicts and became unable to have a dog, so she was ours, even though she wasn’t yet big enough for us to take home.

After a few weeks, my sister and I were walking home from school. I remember that I was complaining because I had just received my first piece of homework ever. But then, through our neighbor’s bushes, we spotted something. A flash of red. And we knew what it was. My sister and I began to run, screaming my dog’s name with glee. We ended up scaring her with our excitement, but there she was, our Rosie, the exact dog my mom had picked out from the photo. (inset youngest photo, can see top of my head and all of dog face)

I was obsessed with her, of course. She was so small that my parents could each hold her in one hand, but still she had my entire heart.. We grew up together, and sometimes we would even wear matching items. One Halloween, we both dressed up as hippos! Everywhere I went, everyone heard about her; her miraculous ability to throw her toys at you when she wanted you to play with her, and how she knew to keep changing who to throw to if there were multiple people around.

Eventually, I even trained Rosie as a therapy dog so I could bring her to facilities and schools. We were the youngest pair in the class, and my mom had to do it too because I am underage. I loved being able to take Rosie places to spread her joy and make other people as happy as she makes me.Later, when COVID hit and we were stuck at home, Rosie went from sleeping downstairs in her crate to sleeping in my bedroom and sometimes even my bed. This is a change I made because I was so lonely and sad that I needed her to be with me. Occasionally, Rosie would even attend my online classes with me and help me complete my walks for gym class. No matter how sad I was, at least I still had someone who was happy to see me, sit with me, and make me smile. Additionally, due to COVID, I had to have my Bat Mitzvah online and in my house, so, of course, Rosie attended. She wore the appropriate outfit, popped into frame during some of the service, and had her own shirt with my Bat Mitzvah theme’s logo on it.

I love Rosie very much and begin to miss her after a day into any vacation or overnight activity. In school, I make a lot of my assignments about my dog if it is at all possible. Freshman year I managed to write an ode to her for English class, and currently, my photography teacher says I have to take more pictures of things that aren’t Rosie. My dog is so involved in my life that she even managed to go on a college tour or two with me.

Speaking of college, I am becoming increasingly more aware of how difficult it is going to be for me to leave Rosie when I go. I don’t think about it often because it makes me sad, but I know I will have to FaceTime her often and be sent lots of pictures.I truly believe that I would be a different person if Rosie had never come into my life. I am very grateful to my parents for getting her and can’t wait to see what we manage to do together next!