E.

When I was a kid, I had a picture in my room that had a little boy in bed and his puppy sleeping at his feet. I dreamed of that all the time. You see, I never had a dog when I was growing up. My mom and dad weren't pet people.

I tried fish, but they were so boring. My brother had a rabbit for a while, but it was locked up in a cage and didn't play fetch with me either. I found a stray kitten one day that I begged and begged to keep. Then I found out when my eyes swelled shut that I was allergic to them. No matter what pet I tried to get to fill the void, the truth was, I was a dog person. I needed "Man's Best Friend," not a stuck up snobby cat or a boring fish.

I eventually resigned myself to having a dog when I grew up and got married.

Somewhere along the line while Cheryl and I were dating, we began to talk about how we both always wanted a dog growing up. Cheryl had no pets growing up either. As luck would have it, Cheryl finally got her wish a little over a year before we got married. She got a puppy. An amazingly cute Dalmatian named Ellie.

She was really amazing. There were good times and bad times, but looking back it was a lot of fun. When you don't have kids, having a dog is as close as you can get sometimes. You have all these dog stories that you tell people and I am sure that they are totally bored with them (just like some people are with stories about your kids... yes I said it). They really become a huge part of your life. They become a companion.

I had no idea what to write about today. A year ago yesterday was when Ellie had to be put to sleep. It was really hard for me. The next day we got Bailey... so much for mourning.

I'm not planning on doing this every year, but it hit me today. It sounds funny, but I don't want to forget her. She was my first dog. She was the first puppy to lay at my feet. She was the first dog to dig up our backyard or pee on our carpet. There is something special about that first dog.

Now I know why some people don't like having pets, because it is hard to say goodbye. I wouldn't trade all those great times we had together eventhough losing her was so tough.