Essay Draft 1: Image

                

                     Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted a dog.  Whenever I would see people walking their dogs in our old neighborhood in San Ramon, I would always stop and pet them before I knew if they were dangerous dogs or not.  Dogs made me really happy but my parents didn’t think we needed a dog in the house just yet.  My sister and I were only two and three at that time.  Later that year, we moved to Sebastopol in the house I still live in today. This time we were living out in the country and not in a neighborhood which meant we had a lot more property.  As a couple years went by, I still kept asking and asking for a dog because all my friends in my kindergarten class had one and I didn’t think it was fair.

                First grade came around and I still didn’t have a dog.  In the month of March, I asked again because my birthday was coming up on sixth.  They still said no.  It was the last week of March and after school when my mom picked me up she said she had a surprise for my sister and I.  She kept driving and I didn’t know where she was going.  We ended up at this really strange house and only being six years old, I was asking a lot of questions the whole car ride.  Finally, we walked into the house and I was so excited.  There were so many puppies.  My mom said I then told her that she was my best friend.  After an hour or so of playing with the puppies, I picked one.  She was the cutest puppy and she was so playful.  My sister and I were trying to think of names we liked.  We always used to watch the Rugrats and so we thought of the little girl named Lillian in the cartoon and that’s what we named her.  We called her Lily.

                Lily is a black lab border collie mix.  She is the most beautiful dog.  I would lay with her in the living room on her little doggie pillow we got from Costco.  She knew what she could and couldn’t do when we let her in the house and she was the best dog.   Every day after school I would play with her until it got dark.  A year or two went by and my dad thought that Lily needed a friend.  We looked and looked in ads and found a golden retriever chocolate lab.  We went and visited her and played with her and loved her.  We ended up getting her and naming her Molly.  Molly was so much fun when we went and visited her.  Once we got her home, she was different.  She ended up not being the dog we wanted or needed.  She tore everything apart.  My dad tried to get rid of her but no one wanted her and by that time my dad didn’t really wanted to get rid of her anymore.  My dad eventually had to build a fence and block off an area of our property for the dogs.  It really sucked because Lily was an extremely good dog, and it was like Molly ruined it for her.  Since Molly wasn’t allowed in the house, it wasn’t fair if Lily was.  Being in the fenced off area, the dogs didn’t get too much attention.  My sister and I got older and had other things we needed to do so we weren’t home as much.

                This year had been a rough year for Molly.  She got out of the area and was lost for a few days.  Once we found her, we had put her back in the fenced area and once again, she escaped about seven more times.  My dad couldn’t handle it anymore and it was getting dangerous that Molly as out on the highway and endangering herself and the people in their cars.  Finally, my dad called the humane society and I was so upset.  I didn’t talk to him for a couple weeks.  My sister called me told me great news.  She found Molly a home.  Her boyfriend said he would take care of her and she could live with him since he would allow her to live inside the house and so we could see her whenever we wanted.  Ever since Molly moved to my sisters boyfriends, she has been such a better dog and I’m really happy she found a safe home.

                Now, only Lily is here and she has all the freedom in the world.  Lily is about 13 years old and now has cataracts.  In the beginning of summer, I noticed how tired she would get and how her back legs shake.  A few months ago, my dad told me that this would probably be her last summer.  I was so upset and regretted not spending a lot of time with her in the years I could’ve.  I would go and sit with her and just cry because I felt so bad.  She was the best dog I had ever had and my very first dog.  She always showed so much affection towards anyone she met.  Now, I try to play with her and hang out with her as much as I can when I’ve got time aside from work, school, and homework.  Since she has cataracts, she can’t see really well and when you look at her eyes, they look all fuzzy and that even makes me upset.

                I guess I never really knew how much Lily meant to me until I started to see her get old.  She is really good shape for being 13 years old though and still loves to play fetch.  She doesn’t give up, even if she’s tired.  No matter what all she wants to do is play or for someone to pet her.  I’ve never really been a pet person, but once I realized how much I loved her and how special she was to me, that all changed.  I never even thought I could have so much love and attachment for an animal.