A few months ago I made the ever-so-wise decision to visit Petland.

I should have known

that what would come of the situation would not be good. I saw numerous lovely, cute, friendly
puppies who looked into my soul and said take me home. I fell in love with a long haired
dachshund puppy that was $2,300. Like I stated before, I should have known what would come
of the situation wouldnt be good.
After the visit to Petland I spent the next few weeks trying to convince my boyfriend
Alexs parents to let us get a puppy. I assured them that I wouldnt spend $2,300 on one and that
we would look wisely. Alexs dad was on board, it was his mom we really had to convince.
Convincing her to let us get a puppy was like trying to convince a toddler to take a nap, even
though they fight sleep, they eventually cave in.
I found a breeder in North Canton, Ohio who had one, black, long haired dachshund left.
Not too far from Kent State, however about two hours away from home. I was in contact with the
breeder and on a saturday morning we made our way to North Canton to get a puppy, of course,
first stopping at Walmart to get pet supplies. It was probably the longest ride of my life, as I was
so anxious to meet this little fella. Alex and I talked about what we would name him as we went
to get him and we decided on two names, Behr and Leo. We decided that when we saw him
and how he acted we would look at each other and tell what name we decided.
When we arrived at the breeders house we heard numerous dogs barking and when she
answered the door we saw no little, black, long haired dachshund. We came inside and she said
that we would have to be very careful, and let the puppy come to us, as he was very fragile and
scared. As soon as we saw the little guy walk around the corner we immediately looked at each
other and decided we would name him Behr. After filling out all the paperwork we took Behr

home and he quickly became attached to me, walking anywhere I went, lying anywhere I was,
and eating anything I ate.
As Sunday rolled around I realized that I would have to soon leave my little guy, but
since I just got him it was going to be especially hard for me. Alex was going to drive me back
that way I could have some more time with him (I know, this is super cheesy but I promise if you
saw him you would understand!). When it came time for them to actually leave I made an
impulse decision to have them spend the night, after all he is a 4 pound, quiet puppy, how many
people would really see him?
In the morning when they left I was sad but went to my classes like normal. I went that
whole week wishing for the weekend so that I could see him again. After I got into this routine I
realized something. This dog is kind of like a service dog for me. When he is around my anxiety
levels seem to drop by a significant amount. I was diagnosed with anxiety last year and have
been treated for it ever since, but whenever Behr is around its like that anxiety doesnt exist.
Finals week came along and I had a brilliant idea. Since there was no class and I could be
in my room most of the week I brought Behr back to school with me. I had no intentions on
telling anyone on my floor just to be safe. But soon the 5th floor of Korb was in and out of room
515. Tori, Morgan, Shannon, Taylor, Allison, Gwen, Mikaela, Quay, Reina, Nick, Rachel,
Sydney, and Katie all took turns relieving their finals week stress by dropping in to see my dog.
I would take him down the back steps and outside so he could use the bathroom but other
than that he was pretty easy to manage. He slept a lot, and when he wasnt sleeping he was
playing with his stuffed animals, he wasnt high maintenance at all. When I had an exam there
was always at least 1 of the 13 people who knew about him willing to watch him. He became
quite the hit on the 5th floor of Korb and everyone kept quiet about it.

On the last day of finals week there were only a few people left on the floor and I had to
be there for an exam. I had no one to watch behr and because he was so attached to me I knew he
would cry if he was left alone. I tested the water and left him in his cage as I walked out into the
hallway to see if he would cry. As soon as I walked out I heard a whimper, and then soon after I
heard a cry and a bark. I immediately felt bad for him and rushed back in. After all I am just
attached to him as he is to me.
I didnt know what to do and I knew it would be a risk but I walked down to my RA
Laurens room and knocked. As soon as she opened the door she immediately screeched and
wanted to hold him. She soon was taking pictures of him and inviting all the other RAs up to the
fifth floor. She agreed not to say anything and to watch him while I took my last exam.
We went home after my exam and no one ever said anything about Behr. Christmas break
was a month long but still not long enough with my dog. Really, did I ever stress that what would
come out of this situation wouldnt be good? I came back to school and I missed him as soon as
the week started. One night I actually Facetimed Alex just so I could see my dog (the millions of
pictures he was sending just werent cutting it). I saw him and started talking to him and he
immediately turned his head and started looking behind the phone for me, and I immediately
started crying. Not just a few tears. I was sobbing.
That weekend I had Alex bring him up to visit me. He was so excited to see me and vise
versa. Saturday morning one of my roommates friends came to the door and as we opened it
Behr darted out and down the hallway. My roommates friend chased after him but because he is
so tiny and scared, when Sam went down to pick him up he yelped really loud. The maintenance
worker that was in the lounge heard and saw him and just laughed.

To this day Behr still comes to visit and no one says a thing about it. In fact, my floor has
done such a good job at keeping it a secret that not even the entire floor knows. Man, that dog
really is my best friend.

^ in my dorm bed

^coming home from finals week