A Puppy Tale

It all started with Mason. Oh, Mason. This dog has shaped the course of my life over the last few years...

It was a series of unplanned events that led me to adopting this black ball of energy. I never planned to study abroad a second time which left me 'homeless'. I never planned to crash at my parents' house after that second study abroad. And finally I never planned to work at a deli that summer, where I would meet the co-worker who was giving Mason away.

The conditions to be able to adopt a dog were perfect. I lived in a large home in the country with a large yard where my landlords were my parents and my roommates were my siblings who were eager to have a puppy. I was a senior in college and actually had disposable income (what's that?). After having all this pointed out to me by my co-worker, it was on the back burner of my mind for several weeks. After the second or third time she asked me about adopting her neighbor's puppy, I decided to run it by my parents. They were fine with it, so I arranged a time to go pick him up.

If I had known I was picking up a 12 week-old 35-pound demon dog I may have reconsidered the whole thing. I thought I was picking up a tiny furball that I could hold in my hands. I got my first glimpse of him as he came barreling at me, jumped on me, and put a hole in my t-shirt with his puppy claws. Ugh. What had I gotten myself into??

To be continued...