A Love Letter to My Best Friend’s Dog

To the pup next door who taught me that even though I’m a cat person, I can still love dogs—

For as long as I can remember, dogs have made me relatively anxious. I always find that they have a lot of energy, which I’m not always a fan of since it increases my anxiety levels. Speaking very generally about the two animals of course, I’ve always been much more fond of cats, since as everyone knows, cats don’t have the same energy level dogs do. While I never disliked dogs, I just never held the same affinity toward them as I do cats. 

As a cat person, I didn’t think that there would ever be a dog that I love as much as my cats, but when I met Riley, I knew I was wrong. First of all, Riley is probably the cutest yellow (british) labrador I’ve ever seen, and he had the purest heart to match. 

For those of you who don’t know, I was lucky enough to grow up next door to my best friend, and when her family decided to adopt a dog, my (cat-loving) family also seemed to have adopted a new puppy. But from the moment we all met Riley, we knew he was a good pup (the best boy). 

Cue the weird nightly neighborhood walks with our new puppy. As we watch Riley go from a teeny, tiny pup to a full grown (though still pretty tiny for his breed) doggo, we watched him develop a flare for the dramatic as well. Riley, a.k.a. Diva Dog is the star of the show, and rightfully so, always making a point to grab the end of his leash because no one can walk him better than he can walk himself. 

From walks around the neighborhood to car rides down to the beach (where Riley will only sit in the backseat sprawled across everyone else in the car), I realized that I don’t know what I would do without that pup in my life. First of all, I get all the benefits of having a dog, but without having to wake up extra early to take him out or needing to clean up after him; and second of all, I get all the unconditional love from a too-big lap dog. 

If there is one thing that I have learned through the tail-wags so strong that his whole butt wiggles and the leaps of joy when we go for a walk, I know Riley-pup is the best doggo, and the one I needed to remind me that dogs need to be loved for who they are just as much as cats do. Since having Riley in my life, I’ve been able to relax more around other dogs, and appreciate them for the personalities that they do have. And while I am still not a fan of having dogs on my lap or in my face, I will certainly always make an exception for my favorite Rigatoni (why we call him this, I don’t know, but it fits him very well and therefore, is one of his many nicknames). 

I can honestly say that I wouldn’t trade Riley for the world, and even though I’m still very much team cat, Riley holds an incredibly special place in my heart, and I’m so thankful that I’ve been able to be a part of his life for the past seven years. 

So, the next time you think you might not be a dog lover, just remember, you might not be surrounding yourself with the right pups. You might just need a very sassy diva dog instead. 

 

• best friend
• dogs
• love letter
• puppy