Hundreds of dogs, yelping and running around the large, extravagant, concrete building. Every single voice or bark echoes throughout the whole of the room. Along with dogs, hundreds of people, either spectators or owners, crowd around the performance area watching, waiting for the burst of applause. As a five year old competing in her very show, this is now a very common scene for Renee Gould ‘22. It’s the scene of a dog show.

Mocha, one of Gould’s dogs, has a very special place in her heart. ¨She would look up at me whenever I came in and she would like snuggle with me, and you can tell when they are very young that they will have a good temperment and she did,¨ Gould said.

Mocha is the dog that Gould uses for dog shows, but she hasn’t been bred yet because she is still just a puppy. ¨The normal age for breeding is about two because breeding before two isn’t healthy for the bitch or the litter,¨ Gould said. The dog’s that Gould’s family have bred have been Fiona, who has bred two litters of puppies, but then she sadly passed. Fiona’s sister, Sydney, also bred three times.

Gould’s first ever dog show was in Cedar Rapids when she was eight years old. ¨She doesn’t like to brag or show off but she has a wall of certificates in her bedroom,¨ said Gould’s friend Isa Anderson. Gould is humble yet very competitive, and she is imensly proud of her dog shows.

  Dogs and puppies have helped Gould get over many speed bumps in her life. ¨I got Mocha and she was my pick of the litter so I was raising you know ten puppies by myself, five were like up in my room,” said Gould. Mocha was Gould’s puppy while her mom was very sick. ¨I got Mocha when my mom was very sick I mean she could barely move and I was raising these puppies by myself.¨

Along with taking care of, showing, and breeding dogs, writing was also an escape from hard times in her life. ¨Oh her writings amazing, I love it,¨ Anderson said. Writing isn’t very uncommon for people but sometimes, Gould’s writing can get dark. ¨For me writing was a very important part of my life, because as I said, I was not that social.¨ As a kid and even now, Gould has always being on the quiet side when at parties, if she attends at all.

When she was younger Gould was very intelligent and was the one kid, at recess, sitting against the brick wall, reading or writing. ¨I was different and of course that attracted the bullies,” Gould said. “For me, reading and writing was like an escape and it was very important to me to have that kind of creative outlet.¨

¨It’s always nice to see one of your friends break out of their shell,” said Anderson. Despite the two friends only knowing each other since seventh grade they have created quite a strong bond.

Bullying really contributed to the fact that she doesn’t always like going out and meeting new people because of hurtful things that have happened in her past. ¨Bullying stays with you,¨ Gould said. ¨There have definitely been times when I haven’t liked myself because of what they said.¨

Gould feels as though from bullying she doesn’t always give new people a chance, because she is afraid of what they could say, but then it occurred to her. It doesn’t matter what they say.