Everyone Needs a Labrador in their Life

When anyone asks me my favorite breed of dog, I will completely admit that my opinion is biased and unchangeable. Me and my dog have been best friends for 7, beautiful and adventurous years. She was with me through the good times and the bad times.

When I turned 16 and got my first car, I took her to the park by myself and we sat on the bench and played in the grass together. When I was 17, I held my baby nephew for her to meet when they brought him home, and she placed her gentle nose on his chin and wagged her tail. When I was 19, I held her and cried when my grandfather passed away. When I turned 20 and left for military basic training, she accompanied myself and my parents to the airport and she was the last thing I saw before turning down the jet bridge to start my new life in the Air Force. I had a picture of her my parents mailed me which I kept in my drawer through training. I also remember when I was 21 and came home from my first deployment, I immediately got out of my brother's van, and I sat on the ground and we greeted each other. It was the most beautiful feeling I had felt in months to see her smile and feel her oily fur. She licked my face and we both cried because we were so happy to see each other again. When I turned 22 I purchased a painting of her from Brazil and I still have it!

Having my Labrador has been the best lesson of love and loyalty I have possibly ever received. She was born from a stray we fed who had turned up from nowhere and soon began to look very pregnant. My parents had just bought a new refrigerator and we took the giant box and taped it together, and we made a dog house which connected to the back door filled with old blankets for warmth. It was snowing, and one morning the stray decided she needed space and privacy, and soon after she tucked herself away in the refrigerator box, 7 beautiful little black puppies were born and quickly we moved them inside the house next to the fireplace where she nursed them for the first time.

As these puppies grew, it was evident that one particular female was smaller than the rest and it became clear that we had a runt. The day we decided the puppies were fully weaned and ready for new homes, we loaded them into the truck and my dad took the litter and mom to a no-kill pet rescue, but the one we couldn't catch remained. She scrambled from one side of the garage to the other. I chased her down and she yelped and cried when I finally picked her up. That scared, little puppy became Fly!

Fly is the most wonderful blessing I have received thus far in my time on this Earth. It is evidently clear to me that dogs are the only beings on planet Earth who love you more than they love themselves. I feel sorry for the people who have never experienced this very unique type of love. A best friend who never fights with you and is the brightest thing you see every single day. It is my belief that dogs were a gift on Earth from the Lord and that there is no animal more special or especially made for us human beings. I think we forget sometimes that it isn't about us and us only. It is a selfless and honorable act to adopt a dog or any animal, and I praise anyone who does! If you've never had a dog, take into consideration that there are many people both online and who are your friends who know how to help you. A new puppy can be very frustrating at times, but all of the love and loyalty we receive from our pets is a divine blessing and I am forever thankful for my best friend, Fly the Labrador.