Storytelling: I Got the Wrong Dog...

By Sophie Goodwin

I chose to share the story of how I got my puppy, Bear. However, it wasn’t your typical “I want a dog so I got a dog and it’s 1000% cuter than anyone else's dog, but absolutely no one agrees or cares.” 

Getting a dog was an insanely difficult process. To start, two people in my family are extremely allergic to dogs (that little detail did not slow me down.) We are also definitely not "pet people." 

My mom cleaned the fish tank too much so all our goldfish died of a weird disease directly related to being too clean. We had about 12 tadpoles through the course of my childhood but the second they turned into frogs, it was time to let them go. Yet, every time they hit the pond, they were eaten in seconds. 

I figured we needed an animal that could squirm right into our hearts and no one could give away. After years of presentations, research and overall begging, I convinced my parents to get us a dog. I was insanely excited to get a dog and burst into tears the second I saw the one I knew we needed to get. It was a gorgeous gingery-brown cavapoo puppy with little white paws and a white chest. He was extremely confident and the sweetest thing ever. Several weeks later, we went back to the breeder to take home the newest addition of our family. However the dog we were handed was anxious and small and had a cute white chin. He was definitely NOT the dog I picked. But we were too excited to care and he’s now the most spoiled dog in the world.

Storytelling was fun and gave me a sense of connection to my peers and I enjoyed listening and/or relating to so many interesting stories. It’s fascinating to hear the stories that have shaped who we are.