This is a picture of me and my dog. His name is Decoy and he is the best dog ever. We got him when I was very young, probably kindergarten or right after. I didn’t like him at first, not one bit. I had a reason though, every time my dad would let him out, he would run straight for my ankles and bit them relentlessly! And of course at five years old, that is a rather terrifying experience. As the years have gone by however, he has grown to be the biggest, sweetest, and most loving thing in my life. He’s now thirteen years old and is starting to show his age and as much as it breaks my heart, I am starting to realize I won’t have him forever. One thing that always bugged me was how I could never manage to get a good picture of us together. He is a very photogenic dog and I’ve taken a bunch of pictures of him before like this one: 

But I could never get both of us to take a cute picture. Don’t get me wrong though, this is more than just a picture of a girl and one of her best friends, this is a picture of me and my inspiration. As I mentioned before, it pains me to see the effects of him slowly growing old and experiencing his hip problems, as it does everyone in my family. I have known for a very long time that I have wanted to be a veterinarian. Everything about helping animals makes me feel warm inside, but it wasn't until Decoy’s problems that I realized I wanted to find a way to help older dogs feel better with age and stiffness. So I decided I want to go to a 6 week animal rehabilitation course after vet school or in the year between college and vet school. I don’t want old dogs to have to get stiff and fall over. I want to help them, and Decoy has showed me how I can make a difference in a dog’s life that will keep him happy and lively and I honestly don’t know what I could possibly want more.