Imagine losing a family member or a best friend forever. Imagine seeing them that day, and then getting a call from your crying mother explaining our dog was mauled by a pitbull. When my dog died, it was one of the worst experiences my family has gone through. The death of our dog was terrible, we planned on never getting a dog again. Until one day my mom announced,  “I think i’m ready to start looking for a puppy.”  That night we all gathered on my parents big blue bed and discussed the topic of getting a new dog. It was very different not having a little puppy running around our house, you can probably tell by now that we are dog people. After many phone calls, facebook post and searching, we finally found an adoption that was being held the next day. Being as impatient as my crazy family was, we went and brushed our teeth, washed our face and put on pajamas and went to sleep. I hopped into bed and all of these thoughts came into my mind. What type of dog are we going to get? Puppy or older dog? Breeder or Shelter? Big or small? Every second, i picked up my phone taking random quizzes on what breed is best for my family. Finally, my eyes shut from exhaustion.

The next morning, i threw the covers off of me and ran upstairs. Today was the day. Hair and teeth brushed check, makeup done check, clothes picked out check. While i struggled to put on my black shorts, i heard my dad call me “Guys it's time to leave.” The white car door slammed and we were off. It took forty-five minutes to get to the adoption center. Which was the longest forty-five minutes of my life. Finally, we parked and hopped out of the car in excitement. The big blue tent was filled with cages, which we saw from a distance. When we approached the center, we saw a dog that looked similar to the dog that attacked my puppy. That's when we felt that maybe looking this soon was wrong. My parents walked away in tears, because our dog was their best friend. Sadly we sat in the car for a couple of minutes in silence. “We can’t give up just yet” Said my mom. “Just because we had one bad experience with this place, doesn't mean there's not other adoption that it's good.” my dad explained. Again, after many google searches and more calls, the only places that were open were pet stores.

Once we arrived, the big doors of “The Family Puppy” were wide open for our big family. Walking in, we planned on looking at breeds, not buying. Many puppies filled the windowed cages. The wide selections of dogs made it hard for us to choose which one to see first.  We walked back and forth, looking at each row. Until a special dog sparked my eye.  He was a big, brown Goldendoodle puppy. His big brown eyes made it hard to not fall in love right then and there. “Would you like to play with him?” asked a tall male worker. “Yes!” said my brother and i. The big red door to the playroom screeched open, while we ran in. For an hour, my brother and i played and played with this puppy. Until the fun and laughter came to an end. By our parents telling us it was time to go. The smiles on our faces turned to frowns within seconds. Unfortunately, i thought negotiating would work this time. My brother and I walked out with our heads down. When we reached the car my brother broke out into tears. As our car drove away we begged and begged, then our big white car turned. My parents finally gave in. I don't think i have ever ran faster. Once my parents walked in, a huge stack of papers were waiting for their signature. Finally, we brought Maxx to the car and went home.