February 20th is National Love Your Pet Day. Growing up, I would always say I was a cat person. Because of their smell and, well, overall dirtiness I had never liked dogs but I have always had dogs because of the preferences of the people I live with. My husband has taken to deer hunting and wanted to get a dog to train for tracking. Not only did I not want a dog but I also did not want the extra work that comes with having a dog. However, I decided to give in as long as I got to choose the breed.

I started to research dogs that were good for tracking animals and came across the beautiful Bluetick Coonhound. Yes, I chose purely on looks. In 2022, we found a breeder that was expecting a litter. We really wanted a girl. The litter was 10 male dogs. We decided to go with it anyway. Additionally, our breeder decided to keep the puppy we wanted so we chose a different puppy from the same litter. In April, we brought him home.

In May of 2022, my husband started a delivery job that kept him busy so I had a lot of time with our new puppy, Captain. At first, it was tough. I was not used to waking up all hours of the night to take him outside. My kids are basically grown, theyre older teens, so being up all night taking care of little ones is far behind me. I was always tired but I had nothing but adoration for the little guy. He trained pretty quickly and is a very smart boy.

Over the past year, this little boy has turned me into an avid dog lover. He is precious, smart, and looks at me with so much love in his eyes. He is actually a very good tracker too. I have found that I am a dog person, after 41 years of thinking I wasn’t.

I now believe that I have found my spirit animal, my doggie soul mate and would not trade anything for him. Because I love this dog so much I am now one of the people that I used to poke fun at. My kids and husband make fun of me now for babying my sweet boy.

If you have been looking for a pet, don’t give up. Finding the pet that is meant for you is still a possibility and when you do they will bring you so much joy and companionship. Just so happens the 20th is not only National Love Your Pet Day, its Captains birthday too.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/20/health/benefits-of-having-a-pet-wellness