I have two dogs: Jax, a 7 year old chocolate Labrador and Milo, a 1 year old golden doodle. Jax and Milo are brothers, but they are very different. Jax is dark, strong and handsome. Although he is tough looking, this great big beast is scared of hard wood floors. He is very food motivated and aims to please his humans at every command. Milo is blond, petite, adorable and goofy. He strives for human affection and all he wants in life is for somebody to throw his ball. These two little goofballs have helped me a lot through life and even though they are dogs, I have learned a lot from them.

Last winter was tough for me and I couldn’t have gotten through it without my dogs. I moved to Wausau, Wisconsin in mid February of 2016. The six months that I lived there was the hardest period I had ever been through in my life. School wasn’t positive at all for me and I was always extremely lonely.

Every day after school I would come home and do my homework on the floor in the living room with Jax, and after I was finished we would go on a long walk up the mountain that we lived on.

Soon, we got our new puppy Milo, and I took the naughty little boy on at least one walk every day. I also voluntarily took up the job of helping my mom train him. Constant training, rewards and obedience classes helped keep my mind off of my grim situation and the physical exercise of walking him really helped with my mental health.

Humans don’t deserve dogs is because of their love. The overwhelming admiration and affection that our pets have for us is unbelievable and the best feeling in the world.  After a day at school, my puppy always comes running up to me, squealing and excited to see me again. That kind of love and excitement from anything other than a parent was very nice and refreshing.

Another reason why we really don’t deserve them is because they don’t judge us. No matter what happens or what I do, their love for me won’t change. I could get in trouble at school, get bad grades or yell at my friends, and at the end of the day when I come home their love for me will stay the same.

Dogs are simple, mindful, and live in the moment. No matter the day and no matter the time, the words “ball” or “walk” trip my dogs into a psychopathic frenzy. If you offer to throw their ball for them they immediately run outside. No matter how far or hard you throw that ball, they sprint to it and bring it straight back, patiently waiting for it to be thrown again. Minutes and even hours can go by and they will not rest. Both of my dogs would stay outside through the night, in the dark to play ball until they drop. This kind of living in the moment, not worrying about anything or anyone else I really benefited from learning from my dogs.

Milo is currently in training to be a therapy dog, and help many kids around the area who need it. A therapy dog can be brought into schools for struggling or stressed kids to pet or read to. They can also be brought into hospitals to help kids going through physical therapy. The dogs can help motivate the kids to go on walks, and even the seemingly simple activity of petting or brushing them can help the physical therapists disguise the exercises. Even if he doesn’t pass his testing, I’ll know that my pup has done his job. I am very proud of my Milo and everything he’s done to help me.

Humans don’t deserve dogs at all. They have overwhelming love and affection for us, don’t judge us and are amazingly mindful creatures.We can learn a lot from these complex canines. It sounds crazy, but if everyone could take the time to learn something small from their pet, the world would be an easier place to live in. Especially in such a busy world, we all need to learn to love each other unconditionally, not judge each other and be mindful and live in the moment.