I never had a pet growing up. I had fish, but you can’t snuggle fish. You can’t really play with fish.

I always wanted a dog, so when I started renting my first house here in Charleston, I decided to adopt one.

My boyfriend and I had been looking around at different shelters to see if anyone had puppies. We wanted a puppy so she’d be with us for a long time, but we would have been satisfied with a dog as old as a year and a half.

If we could choose, we wanted either a Husky or an Australian Shepherd.

One day, I called the Coles County shelter and asked what kind of dogs it had available. The shelter told me it had a 10-month-old Shepherd-Husky mix, and my heart skipped a beat. This was the perfect dog for us.

We hurried over to the shelter to check her out, and the minute we saw her, my boyfriend and I just looked at each other and said “That’s our dog.”

We adopted Sadie on May 15, and I can’t even remember what life was like before I had her.

I get home and always have someone to greet me. I always have a snuggle buddy. If I go for a walk, she comes with me. If I’m crying, she lays with me until I’m not. She’s truly my best friend.

I read an article recently that said pets should not be treated as part of the family, and I disagree wholeheartedly.

We call her our child and refer to ourselves as her parents. We let her sleep in our bed even though she has her own little bed next to ours.

We pretend to cook her food on the stove for her to make her think it’s people food (it actually works, she loves watching us cook her meals).

We subscribed to DogTV so she can watch TV while we’re at work or in class, and she loves it. She actually growls at us sometimes if we’re watching our own TV shows until we put it on for her. She’s so playful, and we love playing with her.

In the two months we’ve had her, we’ve grown so attached to each other.

I was gone for a week for dance camp, and when I got home she chewed up my flip flop the next day after never chewing any of our stuff in the past. I took this as her saying that I wasn’t allowed to leave for that long again.

She’s also very protective of us and our friends.

Today is her birthday, and she’s having the best day ever. We’re even making her pupcakes for her special day.

Treat your furry friends like they’re part of your family. They deserve the same amount of love you would give a good friend, if not more.

Jessica Stewart is a junior English major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at jrstewart3@eiu.edu.