How having a dog changed my life for the better

When I was given this assignment, I knew I was going to have a difficult time figuring out what to write about, but that is the problem associated with free writing activities, they are too general. Whenever I’m not given a specific topic to write about I feel that this adds additional pressure when it comes to making a valuable contribution to the blog that I can be proud of and that my classmates can find interesting. 

After giving it a lot of thought I was going to write about my experience as an exchange student in Oregon, nevertheless, there has been a last-minute change of plans and I’ve decided to write about my pet. I feel that if I talked to you about my school year in the USA I would not be completely honest as I would probably choose to leave out many interesting details that I’d rather keep to myself. 

We are halfway through the trimester already and I’ve noticed that nobody has still written anything related to pets or animals, so I guess that this could be an interesting topic to cover taking into account that in our country there are more pets than kids and that I've recently become a dog owner myself.

I had been asking for a dog for Christmas for as long as I could remember, though these efforts had been in vain up until two years ago, when my parents gave me the best present ever, a golden retriever puppy and as you can imagine, I've been on cloud nine ever since. I’m pretty obsessed with her actually and she is always by my side, in fact, as I’m typing this, Nala (that’s her name by the way) is resting her head on my lap.

If you ask me, dogs are the best lifelong companions. They live to love and please us and they never ask for nothing but love in return, they are just so selfless, they make you feel valued and they are loyal through and through. But, as I see it, the best thing about dogs is that they don't give a damn about how you look, whether you look tired or at your best, they just want to spend time with you. Besides that, I have also come to realise that dogs have a sixth sense and they can feel our emotional ups and downs. Whenever I feel a bit low, Nala senses it and she cuddles with me until I start feeling better. She is always by my side and she is so intuitive that I often joke about how I often feel that I’m hanging out with a furry little human toddler who just wants to feel included at all times. Nala’s temperament never ceases to amaze me. She is really well-behaved and smart for a dog her age who has never received any type of formal training. I love spending time with her and teaching her new tricks now that she knows how to answer basic commands such as “sit”, “paw”, “down”, “come” and “stay”. 

If you have spent time with me before Nala,  I’m quite sure that you have come to notice that I was a really nervous person who got easily frustrated when things didn't go as planned. Having her in my life has made me a calmer and more understanding person, in fact, I’ve never been calmer. A couple years ago, I always felt that my mind was running a million miles per hour and that made me feel completely overwhelmed  but now I don’t even identify with the person I once was anymore. I find much more joy in the day to day now that she is around and I don't get so irritated at myself for not having everything together as I know I'm doing my best. I know that the fact that I’m older also helps but deep down I know that Nala has definitely had a positive impact in my life.

I’ve talked about the positive effect that my dog has had on my mental health but besides that, she has also made an impact in my physical health. Growing up I had always been into sports, I’ve practiced several sports such as cross country running, kung-fu, dancing and swimming among others all through primary school and high school, however ever since I started university I have been struggling to find motivation to work out.  Lately, Nala has become a unique motivator for sustained physical activity. Going for walks makes her happy and seeing her that way makes me happy too, so it's a win-win for everyone.

Let me tell you that despite having wanted a dog for such a long time, I had no idea that having a dog would be like this, I’m quite impressed by how Nala has shaped my life for the better and she has even contributed towards helping me be at peace with myself. Something that really gets on my nerves is hearing someone say “it’s just a dog”, it’s not just a dog, actually this couldn’t be more far off from the truth. I am completely aware that pets are not human, notwithstanding I feel that I speak for the vast majority of dog owners when I say that dogs are a huge part of our families and that our lives would be incomplete without them, in fact, Nala’s arrival has brought us closer as a family.