My Pet Knows Me Best

I am an only child and my parents were not able to have another kid. My mom said it is called secondary infidelity issues. Because I did not have other siblings, my parents thought it would be a good idea to get me a puppy. I finally got a puppy when I was in the first grade. I was so excited and happy to get one. I had been waiting a long time. The day we went to pick him up was exciting and something that I will remember always. They wrapped up in a blue blanket and I got to hold him in the car. He eventually got out of his blanket as he wiggled a lot.

We got a Havanese. He is black and white and is in the toy family for dogs. For a long time, we couldn’t come up with a name and because I was the one to choose it since he’s my dog. I was also very young at the time and I didn’t really know what to choose. For a while, I thought of naming him Buddy because it was sweet and simple. But then we finally decided to name him Rocky. He has a lot of nicknames. We started calling him Rocky Roads and then eventually we just called him Roads, Roadies, Roadie Bears and Roadster. My favorite is mister fluffy pants. I am sure I am missing a few of them.

I consider Rocky my baby brother. When I was younger, I would push him around in a baby stroller. He loved being pushed around. If he wasn’t moving, he would try to look behind him and see where I was to tell me to keep pushing him in the stroller. I also liked to dress him up in doll clothes and put different baby hats on him too. I would carry him around like a baby. I still do these silly things a lot as well. Sometimes, I will put a blanket on his head because he looks so cute and fluffy. Other times, I will put the laundry basket on top of him to trap him so I could hold him if he was getting away from me. I also used to put him inside of the laundry basket and push him around the house. But, these “missions” to capture him are not always easy. Sometimes I really have to try and get him. For example, if I want to pick him up and give him hugs and kisses, but he doesn’t, then he will run away like the flash and try not to get caught. But, I always found a way to capture him. I found out that if I just used a blanket and put it on top of him, he won’t move. Then, you slowly remove the blanket from him and then you have yourself a puppy in a blanket.

As I got older, I no longer played with toys. Rocky is really the only thing I will “play” with nowadays besides video games. But Rocky still lets me hold him. I am the only one in the family that he will just sit there and let me snuggle with him. He never really lets my dad hold him. He usually is the most playful with my dad because he is the only other boy in the house. My mom can hold him sometimes, but he uses his small little paws to push on her chest so that she will let him go. But with me, he will just sit there. He doesn’t try to leave and I give him a ton of kisses. Well, most of the time anyway. He only sits for me when he is not in a naughty mood. He also likes to lick me as I am holding him. He could do that for hours if I let him. I think it’s his way of showing me how much he loves me back.

Rocky is the one person in my family who seems to know me best. He is always super excited when I get home from school. He will jump on me and run around in circles until I pick him up. Then he will want down and run around some more. He will want me to pick him up again and he will keep doing this until I finally give him a treat. It’s our daily routine when I get home. If I have had a bad day, he always seems to know by showing me extra affection. If there is a thunderstorm, we are both scared. He likes to run in my room and hide under the bed. I eventually get him to come out and we hold each other as we are both afraid at times. When I am super happy and having a great day, he seems to be more playful. He seems to have a way about him that understands my moods, thoughts and feelings more than anyone else.

He seems to always know when I am sad, happy, sick, etc. I feel like dogs/ any kind of animal do not really understand emotion that well and that they don’t really know how to comprehend it. But, I think it’s different for me. If I am in a bad mood, he will know. He always comes up to me and lays down on me, and most of the time he will start to lick my hand as a sign of affection. Dogs can’t see colors, I don’t think. I’m pretty sure they see the world as black and white. So, he will never really know what everything looks like. Which is sad to think about. Like I said before, dogs can’t really comprehend emotions or stuff like that. But, whenever I am crying or something, he will hear me and he will come to me and start licking me all over my face and it makes me laugh. I feel like he’s telling me that everything is going to be okay in his own love language towards me. Whenever I’m sick, he seems to come straight to me whenever we’re in the same room to snuggle with me and give me lots of kisses. I think he’s trying to take care of me by doing these actions.

When COVID-19 first happened last year, everyone was sent home. Rocky had the best time of his life. I don’t think he never knew what was really happening, obviously, because he seemed really confused that we were at home everyday but I know he enjoyed the company. I always felt so guilty leaving him at home. I still feel guilty to this day. Every time I come downstairs with my backpack on, he will always be sitting on his big oversized dog bed, giving me puppy dog eyes as we walk out the door. I hate leaving him, but he knows and I know that I will be back soon and that I won’t be gone for long. The worst part was when he had no one to stay at home with him. This was when my dad and mom both worked full time and went into work instead of working at home. When I got up in the mornings, someone was already gone, then the next all 3 of us were gone. He hated being alone during the day but at least he got some good sleep out of it. He definitely needs to have at least one person with him or else he gets super lonely. I am definitely not prepared for the day when we all have to leave him alone at the house one day. He has had such a good year with all of us being home and I’m just not ready to see his sad little face when we go.

The weekends were always his favorite, but during COVID-19 every day has been his favorite. As I had to go back to school, luckily, my mom was able to continue working from home and doesn’t have to return back to work until this fall. There is a chance she might be able to continue working from home too. My dad also stays home some days. He doesn’t work on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. He works Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. But it’s not always like this. One week, he will start on Wednesday and work 4 days out of the week. Then the next week, he will start work on Thursday, and it just keeps switching off from Wednesday and Thursday. But even when he is gone, my mom is still there to keep Rocky company. I am so happy that he now has someone at home with him. There is no doubt that we have a special bond and it is comforting to have someone that understands my moods as much as he does. I am not sure what I would ever do without him. He is my best friend and the best brother a girl who is an only child could ever have.

Written by: Kayla Van Zanten for a class blog assignment. 2021.