My Relationship with Dogs

Posted on February 19, 2025

I used to be very afraid of dogs, but I had no idea why. I grew up around them, so I should be used to them, right? Nevertheless, anytime a dog jumped at me or barked I got startled. It frustrated me, but I figured I must just be a cat person. And that was that.

My mom told me that the dog we had when I was little snapped at me once. I knew our dog didn’t like kids, but I had no memory of her doing this to me. This made a lot of things make sense, from our dog staying at my grandma’s indefinitely to my fear.

That is until I was in college. A few months after I started, my sisters finally convinced my mom to get a dog. They had wanted one since they were little, but I was understandably scared. My dad needed no convincing, and one weekend we drove a few hours away to meet a bunch of puppies available to adopt. They were all mini goldendoodles, and we had a hard time choosing at first. Then one fell asleep in my arms, and we took her home.

We named her Piper, and she behaved so well. She knew to ring the bell hanging on our doorknob when she had to go out, and she listened very well. Piper helped me a lot in getting over my fear and discomfort around dogs. She only wants to play, be pet, and most of all snuggle with you. She loves wearing clothes and posing for pictures. She also can tell when someone is upset and goes to comfort them right away. She doesn’t like yelling and will seek solace in someone’s arms. She smiles so big when she sees someone she knows! Piper usually doesn’t bark but can be insistent if she hears something or wants something.

I loved Piper a lot, and I still do! She goes to college with my sister, where she is spoiled endlessly.

A few years after getting Piper, we got another dog, a Maltipoo we named Sailor. Sailor has the biggest, brownest eyes and bushy white eyebrows. She has black and white fur and loves to lay beside you. She doesn’t like being alone, though, and will get into trouble if you must leave for any reason (say, going to the bathroom). She’ll find something to tear into, whether it’s tissues, money, food, a trash bag, or one of her stuffed toys. She’s very good at ripping seams apart with her teeth and getting the stuffing everywhere. She also doesn’t like going outside if it is wet, too cold, or too hot. You must force her to go out every couple of hours or risk her running off to go to the bathroom in the house. She also barks at every new person for five minutes straight, nothing stops her.

Sailor may be bad sometimes, but other than those times she is a very good friend. She’ll comfort you and give lots of kisses if you want them. She lets you know when she likes something, and especially if she wants more of it. Sailor and Piper are best friends and lay beside each other all the time. Sailor always knows when I’m down and helps me feel better, often just by being her silly self. As much as she can annoy me, I don’t know what I’d do without her.

A few years ago, my sisters and dad got another dog without my mom being present. She was mad when they got home and brought in a mini Berniedoodle. She pointed out how big her paws were, and even as a puppy she was bigger than Sailor. Nevertheless, we had a new dog and named her Reese. She is very energetic and always wants to play and run. She’s a lot bigger than the other two, but Sailor plays with her just the same. Reese doesn’t really enjoy cuddling or laying around, but she’ll snuggle and demand pets with her big paws dragging your arm towards her. She loves to eat, and has taken food from counters, plates, and out of hands many times. Despite her name, she doesn’t like peanut butter.

Reese loves my dad and my one sister the most. Reese is an emotional support animal for my dad and goes to work with him every day. She loves car rides and seeing her friends at work. Reese charms lots of people with her little brown eyebrows and multicolor paw pads. She also helped when my sister had a horrible situation by barking and alerting my parents to check on her. Reese really is a good girl, and I love her a lot.

All this to say, having dogs join the family has helped me a lot. I probably wouldn’t recommend jumping into the deep end like we did, especially if you had fears and doubts like I did. We were very fortunate that Piper was so well-behaved, because training and taking care of any new pet can be overwhelming. Going to pick the dog helped, since it’s a slow introduction while you look at all the puppies. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d get anything from us getting dogs. I’m glad I was wrong.