I was born with an amazing gift. That gift would be the ability to love animals of all shapes and kinds. I remember asking for a horse for my birthday and Christmas, but I also wanted a puppy. I never imagined that I would get one. I thought it would be fun to help animals in need but I needed to be 14 to volunteer at a local shelter. One day when I was bored I ventured onto a website. This website would change my life forever. It was called pet finder. I went on and started looking for puppies near me. I stumbled upon this cute black lab named Dopey. He was soooo cute. I could tell that there was something special about him. I begged my parents to get him. I printed out pictures of him and stuck them all over the house. I even went to library and checked out books on how to care for a Labrador retriever. To take that even farther, I took a big poster board and made a pro/con list and presented it to my family. On Valentine's Day, I came downstairs for breakfast and found my library book open to a certain page. This was my first clue. I cried and cried over that puppy. There was just something about him. Then on February 18, we went to get him from a shelter. He was sooo cute. My dream had finally come true.

 I was so shocked. I couldn't even believe what had happened. I had gotten my very own dog. I had been wishing for a dog ever since I was little. I even tied a stick to a tree and played with my imaginary puppy. He was a German shepherd named Max. On our way home from picking out my puppy we realized we had to give him a name. After arguing for about 20 minutes, we decided to name him Stealer. 1. I played softball and you steal bases. 2. We are huge Pittsburgh Steeler fans. 3. He stole my heart. 4. He takes my shoes a lot. 

 I never realized how much responsibility a dog was. The first few nights, he didn't sleep and cried. Then you have to get up early in the morning, and they require a lot of exercise. Sometimes, puppies even bite or accidentally chew your shoes. You are mad at first, but then you always forgive them. After all we make mistakes too.