Sooo my dog. He’s small, obnoxious, has curly black fur and a major vegetable complex, but you know it’s what makes him “unique.” The majority of the time, he lays on the couch, splayed over my dad’s leather recliner, probably dreaming of his raggedy squeakers that are buried in the backyard. Not like he should mourn their loss or anything, as he pretty much mutilated each one beyond recognition. May they rest in peace.

Other times he’s having a deep conversation about the rabbit population with his fellow canines, particularly with the Shih Tzu who lives up the street and seems to be pretty talkative between one to two in the morning. Fortunately for my family and me, my dog appreciates sleep as much as my baby sister, and just like her, when he sleeps he snores.

By now you know what his personality consists of, but you’re probably thinking what’s his name? Well my family and me, being the creative human beings that we are, decided to name him Shadow. I know, aren’t we the creative types, but then again at the time, I thought it was extremely clever to name a black dog Shadow.

At times he’s not the smartest dog. As a matter of fact, he has some really slow moments. For instance, last Tuesday I was playing with his tennis ball, tossing it against the wall facing the side of my house. Well my dog, being his very intelligent self, decided it would be ingenious to try and run up the wall to catch the ball on impact, or at least that’s what he looked like he was doing. Anyways, I threw the ball, and low and behold there’s my dog bolting towards the wooden wall. Thunk. In the end, he learned his lesson and passively made a point to avoid any walls for the rest of the day.

Despite his quirky habits and slight mess ups, he has his moments that seem surprisingly sweet. Some days when I feel like my world is crumbling around me, he’ll come into my room and curl up by my side. Other days as I’m walking through the door, he’ll run to the front door, jump on my legs and run zig zags back and forth across the tile. It’s pretty simple if you think about it, but those minor aspects of my day are sometimes what really keep me going.

Sooo my dog. He’s small, obnoxious, has curly black fur and a major vegetable complex, but you know it’s what makes him “unique.” He shows his love in a variety of ways, and despite his slip ups he still brings a smile to my face that is irreplaceable.