When I was young, I had a dog named Bode. We had adopted her when I was about six, and she was eight. She had short, soft black fur that was turning gray in spots. It seemed like she was always happy because she would have her tongue out and it looked like she was smiling. Before we got her, she lived with someone who didn’t care for her. She was left in the house for many hours. One day, she was found on the highway, and someone brought her to the animal shelter. We knew that our time with her was short because she was older when we got her, so we loved her a lot.

She always got into trouble. One time, she was somehow able to open the cabinet doors, and get into the trash. We came home, and found her sitting on the couch, with a lot of trash laying around in the kitchen. A few times, we got a call from someone who had found her running down the road. She was very good at escaping. When she was about 12, she had a hard time breathing. She would make loud coughing sounded a bit like someone choking. One time, someone was biking while we were hiking, and thought that they were being attacked by a bear because of her breathing sounds. We still laugh about the many times Bode acted naughty, as well as the times she was a good dog.

When I was 10, Bode passed away. I remember coming home after a day at summer camp. My mom was standing in the yard. She was crying and told me that we had lost Bode. As an only child, it was especially hard for me to lose my companion. I was bored and lonely.

A few months passed, and we realized that we really needed a dog. We looked at the local animal shelter website and found a dog named Lucky. He was a border collie. In his adoption picture, he seemed to be smiling, which made him seem friendly and reminded me of Bode. We called them to ask if the dog was still available for adoption, and they said yes. We were all so excited that we jumped into the car and immediately went to the shelter to look at him.

We walked in and sat on a little wooden bench. The worker brought out Lucky. He was so happy to see new people, so he ran over and started licking and kissing us. He was jumping and wagging his tail and was so cute that we fell in love with him the second we saw him. His black with white spotted fur was very soft. We walked him out of the shelter to take him on a “test walk.” We knew the minute that we walked out of the door and got in the car that he was the one. We still ended up driving to the trailhead to take him on a short walk. We filled out the forms to get him and headed home. I was so excited to have a new dog. I had planned to take him on long hikes, teach him lots of tricks, and give him lots of love. At home, Lucky immediately adapted to his new home.

We love him a lot, and I think he likes us too. Some days when I come home from school, I will be tired or sad and in a bad mood, and all I wanted to do is lay in my room and not talk to anyone. Lucky always comes and begs for me to play with one of his toy squirrels. He never fails to put me in a much better mood. He is the best furry brother I could ask for.

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