Being a college student opens the doors to a world of opportunities. As young adults, college often offers new environments and a sense of freedom we don’t always know how to make sense of. A lot of college students get to live on their own, make bad decisions and are no longer confined to academic hallways for seven hours a day.
However, this doesn’t stop parents and other adults from offering their two cents of knowledge in all we do. So when I brought up the idea of getting a puppy as a newly turned 20-year-old, every adult I knew had something to say.
Conversations of “you’re too young, too busy and not ready for this kind of responsibility” consumed a large percentage of the words I heard this past summer.
A part of me feared they could be correct, but the other part of me wanted nothing more than to prove them wrong.
I am fortunate to live off campus for my junior year, and considering my biggest responsibilities were one or two classes a day alongside my internships, I was able to prove that I have the time and resources to care for a dog.
I spent weeks scrolling through the pages of the Animal Rescue League and dozens of other animal shelters across the state. Every time I thought I found “the one,” someone would adopt them as I was inquiring.
Just as I started to lose hope, on a random Monday, I saw a Facebook post, uploaded 15 minutes prior, about a female Australian shepherd who needed a home by the end of the week.
I’ve never been someone who thinks too deeply about the conceptual realities of circumstances like fate, but here I was looking at a dog breed that I had dreamed of owning for years and it checked every box on my hopes for a dog.
I didn’t give it a second thought; just as most young adults with a fresh sense of freedom, I simply acted. I sent a direct message, paid a deposit to ensure no one else would scoop her up and called out of work for the next 12 days.
Her name was Faith, a black-tri aussie, who was the second-to-last puppy remaining in her litter because she and a sister didn’t have blue eyes. Though this now hope-filled college student didn’t care about the color of eyes.
When I picked up the eight-pound puppy for the first time, my heart melted in indescribable ways. When I looked at her, I saw the dog that would be by my side when I graduate from college, land my first job and get married.
However, deep down, I knew she wouldn’t be a part of just these chapters in my life; she would also be in chapters of my future kids’ lives. I still remember growing up with the most amazing black lab and an English setter, who were both adopted by my parents before I was born.
They are woven into my favorite memories of my almost-forgotten childhood home, and I would do anything to go back. However, getting to raise the puppy that will be my kids’ childhood dog brings me a sense of peace and joy.
I renamed her August, or “Augie,” after my favorite Taylor Swift song, because, like every dog, she can bring so much hope to a person’s life.
She was potty-trained in less than a week, is the smartest, most loyal dog I’ve ever met and greets every person she loves with a literal hug. She is even trusted enough at ten months old not to have to go into a kennel. She brings so much laughter and entertainment to all who get to be around her.
I came to understand the extent of my free will as a newly turned adult in college, and in doing so, I found my best friend.
Should every college kid get a pet? No. They require patience, time and a level of companionship that demands a great deal of dedication.
However, if your circumstances allow it and you’ve been considering it, take this as a sign. They don’t say dogs are man’s best friends for no reason, and you may only get to raise a dog in your young twenties once.
