I don’t trust cat people and I never have.
When given the choice between a dog and a cat, what compassionate, normal person would choose an emotionless, grumpy cat over a loveable, loyal dog?
There’s just something about a dog that goes beyond cats or any other pet.
A dog is always happy to see you, always wants to be near you and will never judge you.
They possess the purest form of innocent love for humans regardless of what horrible people we are or what terrible things we do.
They might not have the slightest idea what’s going on, but one wag of a tail tells us that they sure are happy to just be in our presence.
There’s a reason why they are called man’s best friend.
Last week was a particularly rough one for me as I had to say goodbye to my best friend.
My 13-year-old basset hound Maisy had to be put to sleep due to health problems common for a dog her age.
I was 6 when we got Maisy from a local basset breeder. I remember going with my parents to pick out a puppy and when my dad picked Maisy up she started peeing everywhere. Yep, she was the one.
I remember my mom gave my sister and me permission to pick out Maisy’s middle name. We toiled with the idea of Daisy, Lazy or Crazy.
I can’t remember what we decided on but it didn’t really matter because as a 6-year-old, picking any sort of name for a real dog and not an imaginary one was a dream come true.
While Maisy was the best dog a girl could ask for, she certainly wasn’t perfect.
I can recall many times where Maisy would run away to the neighbor’s backyard, or run into the middle of our road without any knowledge that we were yelling for her to come back.
My family once spent an entire afternoon looking for her when we thought she had run away, just to find out that she had somehow opened the back door and was sitting in our air-conditioned basement for a solid three hours.
There’s also the time she pooped walking up the stairs while my boyfriend was visiting my house for the first time. Ahhh, what great memories.
It’s these memories, as silly as they are, that make dogs so special. The best thing about dogs is the memories you make with them and their ability to truly be a part of your life.
For almost every major event in my life, Maisy was there.
She was around the first time I learned to ride a bike and she was there when I learned to drive a car.
For all the dance recitals, homecomings and proms, she can be found in a number of picture backgrounds with a happy face and wagging tail.
This dog was a big part of my life and my family will certainly miss her being around.
We as humans do not deserve the unwavering, innocent love dogs have for us, but I’m certainly glad we are able to share moments in life with them.
As the corny magnet on my home refrigerator says, “Life’s Better with a Basset!” and I couldn’t agree more. Life simply is better with a dog. Take that, cat people.

OLIVIA BURGER
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