"Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog, it merely expands the heart."

"Dogs are people, but with all the bad parts left out."

"Better than all of the gold in the world, better than diamonds, better than pearls, better than any material thing is the love of a dog and the joy it brings."

          D is for dog. For my entire life, I was raised around dogs. My grandmother would breed pugs, which was a lot of work, and sell the puppies. Then at home, we had different breeds. I remember this one dog, Cracker, who was Shih Tzu. My mother rescued him from her workplace, Safeguard Self Storage. Cracker was filthy, but we still accepted him with open arms. My sister mostly took care of him. Now, somewhere in Westwego, Cracker is buried under a rosebush.

          My family still raises dogs and tries to breed them. We have two Bulldogs, a Boxer, and a Golden Shepherd. Soon, one of our Olde English Bulldogs, Rumor, will have puppies. I haven't had one of my dogs give birth in a couple of years. Bella, our boxer, gave birth to a litter but only one survived.

          Our newest family member is Roxy. She is a mix of a German Shepherd and a Golden Retriever. Currently, she is three months old. As much as I love her, she can be a handful. Roxy likes to bite in play a lot, but she can get a little too rough. I let her sleep in my bed one night; the next morning part of my bed was eaten. Luckily, it wasn't too much damage, and my stepfather hasn't found out. My mother and I are hoping to repair it.

          Then there's Leo, a black and white Olde English Bulldog. He is a major handful. Leo likes to break out of his cage and eat out of the pantry while we are gone. Now, Leo has clips all over his cage to keep him from escaping. Not too long ago, Leo dislocated his hip. He and Rumor were playing in the kitchen and he whipped around a little too fast. Since I was the only one that could really control Leo, I had to hold him down to keep him from hurting his hip more. By the time we were out of the vet's office, I was covered head-to-toe in dog hair. Let me tell you, dog hair isn't easy to get out of clothes.

          Now, we can't forget about Bella. She is a beautiful boxer. Just recently Bella turned eleven. When you first meet her, she hates you, but after awhile she will sleep with you. Be warned, if Bella sleeps with you, she will steal the blankets and your favorite sleeping spot. Another thing about her is that she hates adult males. We ordered Chinese a few nights ago, Bella tried to eat the delivery man's ankles. We are just glad that she has no teeth.

          Everyone goes on about how dogs are man's best friend; well that's a lie. Dogs aren't best friends; they're family. After a few years of living with dogs, I realized that they are here to be our family and to teach us important lessons we can't learn from humans. Dogs love us, depend on us, we are everything to dogs. I love dogs, respect them, learn from them, they are everything to me now and forever. You will never, never, hear me call one of my dogs my best friend. They will always be my family, no matter what happens.

          Even though I have written over 600 words, it is still not enough. There are literally no words to describe how awesome dogs are.

          Every time I get upset and one of my dogs comes to comfort me, I think 'How did I get so lucky?'. Then, I feel bad for all the people who don't have dogs because nothing is better than a dog's love.

          You know what, the only things that are wrong with dogs are their short life. Also, my favorite people are dogs. I mean, what could be better than someone who will love you forever no matter who you are. They could care less about popularity, looks, everything that a lot of people look for, but dogs just want love and respect, and bam, love!

          I have only one thing to tell you regarding my dogs and me, never try and separate us. One way or another, I will find them or they will find me.