hello stranger :)

Meet Linus. 

I felt it was time that I dedicate a post to this little rascal, not just because he is my new puppy but because he means WAY more to me than anyone else could ever understand. This is my first time taking in a dog that I can call my own, not my friend’s and not even my family’s. This is MY dog, not a family dog. 

It may seem ridiculous to other people who do not understand, but I take it very personally if anyone makes fun of me or my puppy. Prior to taking him a few days ago, I was confused whether or not I should still adopt him for MANY reasons. Yes, he is cute as all puppies are, but he is a HUGE responsibility.

The day before I was supposed to pick him up, my mom decided that she didn’t want for me to take him in because it is basically like taking in a child. It won’t be like when I took care of my friend’s dog for a summer, I’ll be stuck with him for the next 10+ years. Every decision I make for my future will have to revolve around him. I need to space out my class schedule for school so I have time to drive back home and talk him out to pee, I need to find places for him to stay when I’m out of town, I gotta take him to the vet regularly, I need to train him to be quiet and well behaved, I have to take care of his hygiene, I’ll have to basically cater to all his needs if I decide to move somewhere else once I graduate…there are so many things I have to take care of and what makes things worse is that my parents won’t be here to help me take care of him financially. 

Now, I’m not saying that I don’t get enough of a monthly allowance to be able to take care of him, just so long as he stays healthy. But what if he doesn’t? Vet checkups are ridiculously overpriced, they charge the most unreasonable amount for the SMALLEST things. So, if I ever need to take him to a vet when he’s sick, basically half of my allowance for the month is gone. I’m fine with cutting back on my own pleasures like shopping or eating out more for him, but dang. If he gets sick, I really need to find a part-time job to be able to financially take care of him. 

You might think that it’s okay if I can’t take care of him, I can just pass him on to someone else who will! Anyone will SURELY be glad to take care of a puppy! Well unfortunately, that option is out of question for me. I am well aware of the consequences if I give him to someone who doesn’t properly take care of him. If he is too whiny, noisy, or rowdy, chances are they will send him to a shelter where he might get euthanized. Believe you me, I have learned PLENTY about animal shelters across the U.S. from my homeless animal awareness club that giving a dog to the shelter is the last thing I want to do. I have decided to take him in as my dog, and it would be too heartbreaking for me to betray his trust so easily.

So yes, I do have a lot of pressure taking care of this puppy properly and training him well and soon (since his whining is beginning to aggravate my mom, who just complains to me and calls him stupid). But if I am able to pull this off, it’ll at least show my parents that I am more responsible than they think I am. 

At the end of the day, I do view him as a baby (as ridiculous as it may sound to anyone out there who isn’t an animal-lover). He is my one companion that will always be with me, since I no longer live on campus and hang out with people anymore. He’s always happy to see me when I walk down to the kitchen or enter the apartment. Even after a few days, I can tell that he will be the most loyal companion than any of my friends have been. I won’t have to worry about him becoming too busy for me or worry about being replaced in his life. I know I know…I probably sound crazy right now for having this kind of image towards a DOG…I don’t know why I have such a strong connection towards dogs, but I just do. 

He also means a lot to me because I wouldn’t have gotten him if it wasn’t for someone really special in my life. His name, Linus, is named after that someone. So thank you to that person.

So yeah, this is Linus. He is currently 9 weeks old, healthy, and fat :)