Story Time - How I met my Best Friend

Get ready for a super soppy post...

Dogs are better than cats, hear me out. I am a lover of all animals. In my breaks from university, I work at a kennel and I have always grown up in a house full of pets, whether they be strays or pedigrees. At one point, we had so many cats my Dad had to build a cattery (like a kennel but for kitties) on the side of the house just so we could house them all. So, this is no means a hate post towards cats. I can honestly say that dogs have to be one of my favourite things in the world. And today, I want to tell you about how I met my best friend ever. 

I first laid my eyes on my puppy on the 16th of January 2013. She was the only girl left in her litter and she was tiny. I had begged my Dad to let me have a dog for ages, his response was always 'when you get your own house, you can get whatever pet you want'. But I was persistent, I wanted a dog. After going through a break-up, I became very upset. I began not to enjoy school that much, which was one my happiest places to be. I had always loved school, I loved learning and every aspect that encompassed education. Just a little disclaimer - I was 15 years old at the time and this seemed like the end of the world. I had and always will have a flair for the dramatic. But my Dad, being the big softie he is, let me go look at a litter of puppies.

To say it was instant love is an understatement. She was adorable and I wanted to take her home right away. I didn't want to see any other dogs, she was perfect. I left that day knowing I had just met my best friend. We were scheduled to pick her a few days later but then, the snow hit. I remember my mum texting me whilst I was in school and telling me that after I had finished for the day, we were going to go get her. It was a lot sooner than I had expected but the snow was setting in thick and fast so we didn't waste a second to drive up and bring her home. I bought her home that day, wrapped in a little blanket.

Flo Monroe was welcomed into our household.

I get a lot of comments about Flo Monroe's name. Mainly because she has a posher name than most humans let alone other dogs. After working at a kennel and hearing dogs named 'Max' and 'Emily', I really didn't want a human name for my little puppy.  I named her Flo, my thought process was that she was a little dog, therefore she should have a short and sweet like her. I know some humans are also called Flo and I understand the irony. But I didn't want a 'dog' name either. I didn't want my dog to be named something like 'Spike' or 'Biscuit'. Does that even make sense? And Monroe obviously came from Marylin Monroe.

Flo is a chihuahua mix and to begin with, I was a bit apprehensive about what her temperament was going to be. When I thought of a chihuahua, images of posh people carrying around little, yappy dogs was what came to mind. But Flo is nothing like that. She is little, she does bark but apart from that, she is one of the most well-behaved, obedient dogs I have known. Moral of the story - don't let depictions of dogs sway your judgement when it comes to buying one. Not all Staffies are dangerous, not all pugs are stupid and not all chihuahuas are yappy.

Being at university and not having her here is very hard for me. At times, when I am super stressed (which is often) I always think about how having Flo here would make my whole day better. When I am older, I am definitely going to be the crazy dog lady that you see walking down the street with about twelve dogs on leads. But Flo Monroe will always be my first, best friend.

I know this post was super cringey and soppy. But I am thankful for my little puppy every day. I argue that one of the greatest feelings in the world is having your very own puppy that will love you unconditionally.