Lifeline

Thinking about Leo, my dog, always brings a smile to my face. It has been over two years since we got him home, but every day feels like a new day with him.

If you ask each member of our family you might get a different favorite moment of him. I also have a bunch of different favorite memories that we have spent with our little guy. If I have to describe one, I think I would say the day we brought him home.

The story goes like this:

During the pandemic (2020, the worst year) our family was going through more than a financial crisis. We also were struggling with our mental health, especially my father. As the months passed, his depression started getting worse, until he stumbled upon a solution. Pet videos. He would continuously watch videos of pets, especially dogs.

We figured the best way to treat his depression was to get a dog. He was fully on board. I like to think that, even the process of looking for a dog was enough to distract him from his depression. By the time we were out of lockdown, during the pandemic, we had found a place where they had small Pomeranians for sale.

Our whole family was very excited as the process was taking place. We couldn't wait to bring a new family member into our home. My feelings were all over the place. Not only my dad but even I was struggling with depression at that time. I thought that bringing a new small furry member into our family would help all of us overcome any mental health issues we were suffering from.

I still vividly remember the day we went to bring him home. My dad had mentioned that the puppy we were bringing home was named Lance. We were excited for him. Unfortunately, when we got there, Lance was already taken. There seemed to have a miscommunication between the two sellers.

They ended up giving us a pick of whichever one of the other puppies they had. That is how we ended up with our puppy, Leo.

I always heard from other people that the best things happen when you least expect it but I only believed it in that instant.

We ended up bringing Leo home and that was the best decision we made in our whole lives. I cannot ever get over the first moment with our little guy, and that is also my favorite moment with him.

We had a two-hour drive back home from where we got him from. I can still feel him laying down on my lap, at 2 months old, he was very small. It amazed me how easily he trusted us.

Once he was home, we all felt like our mental health had gotten much better. I cannot even describe the feeling of calmness and relief of seeing him running around our small apartment. Thinking back to those times, I cannot help but have a smile on my face. He has been a force of nature for all of us.

I cannot even describe how much I appreciate the mixup at the adoption place because that was the reason we ended up with the best thing in our lives.

That is why my favorite memory of him is when we brought him home for the first time because it was so unexpected. we never thought we would end up with him but I think we were meant to be with us and our family and that is why we ended up with him.

Leo has been bringing joy into our lives and has helped our mental health so much that I cannot thank the gods enough for bringing him into our lives.