I got a puppy while getting my undergrad... what was I thinking?!
So I moved across the country alone when I was 21 and I immediately decided that I needed a dog because firstly I find it very hard to be alone, and secondly, I love dogs.
I got a Bernese Mountain Dog (Aspen), who was 8 weeks old, now almost 2 years (where has time gone?). She is the light of my life and I literally do not know where I would be without her, but it hasn’t been easy. I raised her almost entirely alone and lots of people told me I was making a mistake when I got her. They had many questions like “Are you ready for that commitment?”, “Are you responsible enough for this?”, and “Why would you want a dog?” - I basically told them all to shove it and got the dog anyways.
I have had dogs my entire life, but Aspen was a new adventure entirely on my own.
6am wake ups, 9 - sometimes 8pm bed times, constant pee breaks, and sometimes trouble being left alone in her crate were all worked through. Biting, eating shoes, and chasing the cat all forgone, well maybe not the one with the cat…
Aspen is an extremely intelligent dog and has been relatively easy to train, the one problem that I continue to work through with her, however, is her excitement when it comes to people and dogs, (along with her extreme infatuation with eating goose poop in the spring and summer months).
There are times when I think about what life would be like if I hadn’t got her and I know for sure that I did not make the wrong decision as she has been my rock. I would not have gotten through moving across the country, away from my family and friends if it weren’t for her. There were many times that I struggled to live alone and she was always there for me. So while it was difficult, and it is so hard to leave her when I want to go on the occasional trip, I do not regret getting a dog while studying to get my undergraduate degree.