The One With A Boy and His Dog

There is nothing quite like the friendship between a boy and his dog.

My brother, Chad, had to say goodbye to his dog, Anni, last week. We were all heartbroken to see her go after a short illness, but I think she had a pretty good life being Chad's sidekick for the last 12 years. They were always on adventures together, constant companions, best friends.

I still remember the day my dad and I picked her up to bring her home to Chad. She was a little furball, just rolly-polly blonde fluff. She kept her furballness her whole life, and had such a loyal and gentle personality. And eventually she grew to love stealing chocolate whenever she could, even though it made her pretty sick afterwards. She was a big part of our family, and we'll all miss her.

Right now I feel like having a dog would be way too much work, but every time I saw Chad and Anni together it made me want to rush out and get a puppy for Henry immediately. Because every little boy needs a dog. They just do.