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Dog in arms
Dog in arms
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SBU | Career > Her20s

Adding, Not Replacing

Morgan Kilger Student Contributor, St. Bonaventure University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

A little short of a year ago, I had to say the hardest goodbyes of my life. Both of my dogs had passed away within two months of each other. Oliver passed away in October, and Lylah in December. Losing them both came with waves of grief and confusion that I still can’t quite shake. 

About a month after we said goodbye to Lylah, my parents started to toss around the idea of getting another dog during the spring. I had mixed feelings about this. I almost felt as if I were replacing them. 

While I missed hearing paws dance around our hardwood floors, I couldn’t bear the thought of owning another dog. I wanted to grieve my dogs a little longer before I could love another dog of my own. 

Five months after my parents first started talking about getting another dog, we were matched with rescuing two dogs: a three-year-old female Newfoundland and an eight-week-old male Newfoundland. 

I still had those mixed feelings. I couldn’t shake the guilt of owning another dog quite yet. But still, I wanted to love them and give them a perfect life. 

The female dog ended up not working out because she had to be with her littermate, and we couldn’t take three dogs. But on June 22, we brought home our boy Charlie. The moment I saw his piercing but gentle, green eyes, I knew that we would be as thick as thieves.

And that we are. 

We had brought home Charlie the day after I got all four of my wisdom teeth removed. I ended up being down for another week due to an infection. He stayed by my side for the entire two weeks. It got to the point where my mom would go looking for him just for him to be nestled in my bed with me. 

Not too long after, we brought home a 7-week-old Newfoundland-Poodle mix that we named Linus. 

Linus is the complete opposite of Charlie, but not in a bad way. Linus is our first small dog with high energy. Charlie is another large dog that is chill (most of the time). Linus likes to snack on drywall while Charlie prefers pumpkin pureé. 

Nonetheless, I can’t imagine life without them now. They cleared the dark clouds from around our house with their presence. Every person they meet falls in love with them. They are such a joy to be around that it makes all your worries wash away. 

I can’t wait to watch them mature into adult dogs, but I don’t want them to lose their puppy spark.

Morgan Kilger

SBU '26

Morgan is a second-year writer and co-social media chair for St. Bonaventure University’s chapter of Her Campus, and is very excited to continue writing about what she is passionate about. This includes: mental health, pop culture, academic tips, and life experiences. She is also excited to be part of the executive board this year and help bring HCSBU to life on social media.

Outside of Her Campus, you can find Morgan as Communications Officer for SBU College Democrats, a student ambassador, and dancing with the SBU Dance Team. As for her studies, she is a senior history and women’s studies double major with a political science minor. Morgan aspires to work in a museum or university archive.

In her free time, Morgan enjoys being herself with her loved ones. Whether it’s watching Riverdale with her roommates or taking post-dinner trips to Wendy’s, she loves to spend time with her friends. She’s also working through her “to be read” list before she graduates, which is pages upon pages long (every pun intended).