Woman's Best Friend

I’ve never felt more loved by anyone than I am by my dogs.

We got my current puppy, Rocky (as in Balboa, from my mom’s favorite movies growing up), shortly after we had to put down our last dog in February. He is often very stubborn. Sometimes, he refuses to listen to commands, or doesn’t come when he’s called. However, he is still very attached to us and gets very excited whenever my family and I return from work or school. He loves all of my family members and has a different way to greet all of us. For me, Rocky always runs circles around the room until I pick him up, and then he gives me lots of licks on my hands and cheeks. My brother always walks in to see the puppy rolled over on his back, wriggling around and begging for belly rubs. When my mom comes home from work, Rocky runs up and down the stairs and wags his tail, barking and whimpering excitedly to show her that he missed her very much.

The companionship that I receive from Rocky is immeasurable. He wants to be with me all the time when I’m hanging out at home. Whether it’s sitting right outside the bathroom door, or jumping up on my bed to snuggle in the mornings, he is always right there at my heels. If I try to scoot away on the bed to get more space, he crawls over and nuzzles back into my side persistently. Even when I’m cooking or doing homework, he curls up and rests by my feet, staying on guard in case he has to protect me from a random enemy in my own kitchen. Whenever one of us tries to hug someone, or we have guests over and they get a little too close, Rocky whines and jumps up because they’re stealing all of his much-desired attention.

In the short time that we’ve had Rocky, he has lightened up our lives immensely. My favorite memory so far with Rocky has been watching him discover all of the new things there are to see around our home. We have a big, fenced-in backyard where he can run and play, and he tends to wander around and explore it whenever he can. I remember the first time that Rocky saw snow; he was out in our yard, and fat flakes began to slowly fall and gradually coated the ground. He tried pouncing on them, chasing them, and even rolling around in them. Eventually, he realized that they would melt when they landed on him, so he gave up on the chase. But he continued to playfully bound around the yard, jumping in and out of piles of dead leaves that slowly became covered in powdery snow. The cold invigorates him, and now every time he so much as feels a chilly breeze, he gets excited and wants to run around or throw his toys in the air so he can catch them.

I also remember fondly when we first picked Rocky up from the breeder. When we first saw her puppies on the listing, he was the last one left that hadn’t already been adopted. She warned us that he was a climber and he was very adventurous. We decided that we were going to bring him home, but we had to drive to Virginia, so we met her halfway. About an hour or two away from where we live, we swaddled him in a towel and drove him back to his forever home. He napped the whole way, and since he was only a few months old at the time, he was very sleepy and wasn’t too active. When we first brought him inside, we had to show him how to potty outside and how to eat and drink from his new bowls. Initially, he was eating too fast, so we had to get him one of the bowls with a maze inside to slow him down. He also spent some of his time inside a puppy play pen with his toys and blankets so that he wouldn’t chew up our shoes or pillows, and he had to drink out of a little hamster bottle so that he wouldn’t step in his bigger bowl and spill it. Watching him learn how to drink from the bottle with his tongue was so adorable, and he remembers how to use it to this day. Sometimes, when I come home from work, I’ll see him climbing around on the furniture or standing on the table, remembering when the breeder told us that he loved to climb and explore. She was right!

Overall, I think that owning a dog is one of the most rewarding experiences in the world. People might say that dogs are just pets, or that they belong outdoors, but I disagree strongly. I think that my pets are just as much members of my family as I am. Our dogs, which have always been miniature schnauzers, are some of the most loyal and cuddly creatures you could ever meet. While they’re definitely more spoiled than most, they return it in kind with plenty of licks and snuggles. They are very intelligent, friendly, and energetic dogs. To be so tiny, they always come with a huge personality.