Every day when I leave for class, I walk out to a cacophony of cries from my puppy — a Border Collie-Aussie mix named Winnie who is only just starting to grow out of her soft red-and-white baby fur. When I return, she acts as if I planned to abandon her, then changed my mind and came back. It’s a cycle that repeats itself — but never fails to tug on my heartstrings.

In the beginning of July, I spontaneously drove three and a half hours with a friend to a tiny rural town to pick up and adopt Winnie at 8-weeks-old. Driving down a twisty gravel driveway, I had the realization that I was actually picking up a creature that would be under my care and responsibility. 

From the first moment I held her in my arms, damp and wrapped in a towel, I knew that I was going to love her and take care of her to the best of my ability for the rest of her life. At that age, she still looked so young; it had been only a few days since she had been weaned onto food instead of feeding on milk. She was still so vulnerable, unaware and new to life.

I looked into her eyes and promised her that I would always be there for her to make decisions in her best interest. It sounds funny to say, but when she looked back at me, it felt like she understood. She slept in my arms the entire drive home, oblivious to the fleeting sights and sounds of the road.

Only three months have passed, yet she has grown from less than five pounds to 25 pounds. She is house-trained, knows lots of tricks and loves to snuggle. 

It would be easy to only say good things about her. However, I won’t sugarcoat the work it takes to manage her among all my classes and extracurriculars. 

Already, I have taken her to the vet numerous times for vaccinations, checkups, an injury, and most recently, spaying — meaning she has to wear a cone for two weeks. Winnie used to be frightened to walk away with the vet technician, leaving me in the room, but now she knows the space well and happily trots off with anybody who promises her treats. 

While they are necessary, these visits cost me hundreds of dollars, and on top of this, her basic needs like food, treats, toys, a crate, a leash and a harness are also quite expensive, among other things. It’s not that I didn’t anticipate these purchases, but anticipation does not always equate to mental preparation.

Winnie is still very much a puppy; she bites, has accidents sometimes — even though she’s house-trained — and she’s constantly chewing things she’s not supposed to. Because she’s a mixture of  two very active breeds, she is particularly energetic. 

She gets what I call  “zoomies” — psychotic bursts of energy that send her sprinting around my apartment, crashing into walls, sliding across the floor and leaping onto any piece of furniture within her reach. In her current state, I can easily locate her by listening for the sound of her plastic cone scraping against the floor, a wall or a doorframe.

She’s still getting over a bad case of separation anxiety, which causes her to be very vocal in my absence. She almost always has to follow me around the apartment wherever I go, unless she is distracted by something else. When I take her outside for bathroom breaks, she will bark at anybody walking past us on the sidewalk, and it’s a busy street, so this happens often. 

I have been working with Winnie to resolve this issue by spending more time socializing her and teaching her more commands. However, it isn’t something that fixes itself overnight; Behavioral issues take time and training to fix.

If you are considering adopting a dog, or are a new dog owner who occasionally has doubts, know that I understand you. They can be a lot of work, and sometimes you may feel like you simply don’t have the time and energy to deal with them. But at the end of the day, it is always beyond worth it to have a dog. 

Winnie’s constant expressions of unconditional love are a particularly joyful perk of having her around; even when I’m outwardly antisocial, she is always happy to see me. I cannot overstate how much I love her. 

Even though there are many struggles that come along with having a dog, I would do it a hundred times over. Dog ownership has not been without its trials and tribulations, especially as a college student, but it has proven to be one of — if not the most — rewarding relationships I have ever had in my life.