I was sitting in my room and working on my latest batch of homework when I heard my mom yell, “Sarah, it’s time for dinner and you need to feed the dog, she’s getting antsy!” I finished the problem that I was on and then headed downstairs. When I got downstairs, I saw my mom and I smelt that she was cooking my favorite, spaghetti.

I went over to the pantry and got the dog food out and headed back over to my dog’s dish. “ SIT.” I said as I got the scooper ready. We had trained her to wait for her food and not just to pace when she saw her food. As soon as I allowed her, she started gobbling her food up. She was a fast eater.

After dinner I went back to my room to finish my homework. After about an hour of being on the same assignment, I started to get frustrated. Just then I heard the patter of my dogs paws coming up the stairs. I went back to trying to figure out the assignment and didn’t pay any attention to my surroundings. Soon I felt my bed dip and my dog came crawling up towards me. While stepping all over my homework!

As she made herself comfortable , I watched her with my eyes full of something much stronger than just simple love. It was a devotion, an innate desire to always have her there to make me feel better. She was always there even when I didn’t realize I needed. And tonight, with everything seeming to go to the gutter, I needed her comforting presence and ability for me to appreciate that she was always there for me.

The connection between my dog and I is one that only someone else with a pet will understand. It’s unconditional love,  devotion,  loyalty, and happiness all in one. It’s having someone to cuddle up to at bedtime, it’s a companion when you are at your worst.  So as I watched my dog lay on my bed, I felt my stress begin to dissipate seeing how content she was to just lay there with me.  I have never really appreciated a dog’s ability to provide such comfort, but in that moment, I knew that I just needed to take some deep breaths and try again.