From the time I saw her I knew she was special. This is how I met my furry best friend. We went from strangers who bonded straight away to best friends many years later. It shows anything is possible.

The day that I met Soaphie was in November of 2011. The original plan was that I go with my aunt Tracey to get these two miniature Schnauzer puppies. The male puppy was meant for Tracey and the female was for her mother. When we got to the house that the puppies were at I felt so much excitement. I was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement, just wanting to see the puppies. The male was a small ball of gray fluff. The female was a tiny silver ball of fluff. We found out that the female was the runt of the litter. Once we got back to the truck I held the two balls of fluff and loved them up by combing my fingers through their soft but wiry fur and snuggling them up to my neck and just cooing softly to them. On the way home Tracey’s mom called to say she changed her mind she didn’t want the pup anymore. We met up with my parents and little brother at my grandparents’ house. Once there Tracey went inside while I let the little female go to the bathroom in a small patch of grass at the bottom of the concrete ramp on the porch. Once she was done doing her business I scooped her up in my arms and waltzed into my grandparents’ house. I took both of the puppies upstairs to the bathroom and gave the both a bath. As I bathed them they looked like a drowned rat covered in giant white soap bubbles. The tiny female was the hardest to bathe due to her silver color I couldn’t tell if I got all of the soap off or not. While I was bathing them Tracey explained to my parents how her mother backed out of getting the puppy and how I really bonded with the little female on the way home. She said how it would be good for me to have a puppy because it would give me something to be responsible for since the loss of my horse the year before. After about an hour of my parents thinking about it and seeing the way we were interacting together they finally said yes. The only way I could keep her though was I had to keep my grades up and my room clean. I immediately agreed and was jumping for joy with joyful tears running down my face. The rest of the night we hung out as a family while I thought of a name for my new puppy while she hung out in my hoodie pocket and her brother that was named Oscar hung out in Tracey’s pocket. That was the best night of my life.

It took a few hours to come up with a name for her. My little brother suggested naming her Soapy due to her looking like she is always covered in soap. When I told my mother she just smiled and then suggested naming her Soaphie. I finally chose the name Soaphie Marie. That night when I took her home we put Soaphie in a large dark blue laundry basket with a medium length light blue and green Winnie the Pooh blanket. My father said that Soaphie was not allowed to sleep in my bed with me so I put her temporary bed beside mine. The next morning my father woke me up to scold me for Soaphie being in my bed while I was sleeping. After being severely confused and telling my father that I never put her in my bed, we moved her makeshift bed to the living room. My mother’s friend Jess bought me a collar and leash for Soaphie. The collar was light pink with dark pink, dark gray and white bubbles with a bronze bell, the leash was light pink with dark pink, dark gray and white bubbles. When we all went back into the house Soaphie was half way out of her make shift bed, she was climbing up the side of it. After seeing that my father believed me. So we put Soaphie in a small cat carrier that was black on the bottom and tan on top with black lock latches and silver shiny front gate along with a light sea foam green power puff girls blanket.

Over the course of the next few months the weather got drastically colder as the days went by. The leaves were gorgeous autumn colors varying from reds and oranges to yellows and browns. The grass was still lush and green. With Soaphie being so small still my father went and bought her a size small puppy coat that was light purple with a dark purple thick stripe along with a thin white stripe on the bottom of the thick one, the inside had a layer of light gray fleece to keep her warm while the outside of the coat was for repelling the rain and bad weather. The coat just swallowed Soaphie whole, all that could be seen was her head and her paws. During those months I trained Soaphie how to go to the door when she needed to go to the bathroom, how to walk on leash, how to sit, how to come when called for and how to walk off leash. Once I had her trained to be off leash we were always outside. Soaphie followed me everywhere I went, we would take long walks, go on runs and just play for hours. The cool breeze blowing through my hair as we play with fallen autumn leaves. She would growl and jump in piles of the fallen leaves. Soaphie would chase the leaves as they fell from the trees and the breeze blew them all over the place. The autumn was so much fun with my new puppy.

As winter rolled in I was becoming more prepared. I had a matching set of food and water bowls, a special bin just for her food, more blankets for her and more clothes. Because the coat my father bought was way too big for Soaphie, she ended up wearing a tan and pink horse blanket that was off of one of my stuffed horses. By the time Christmas came around Soaphie and I ended up hanging out in the house more due to the cold weather. For Christmas my parents got me more stuff for Soaphie. I had gotten a size extra-extra small hot pink puppy coat with a hood rimmed with light gray fur, a small round dog bed and some dog toys. As the days go by we just bonded closer and closer, we were inseparable.

It’s now five years later and not much has changed. Soaphie and I are still inseparable, we still play and snuggle a lot. Soaphie went from a two-pound puppy who would sleep in my hoodie pockets to a fifteen-pound lean dog who still wants carried everywhere. We got so much clothes for her over the years varying from t-shirts and sweaters to coats and hooded coats, she even got some hair bows. We no longer buy toys from her because she won’t play with them instead she takes my stuffed animals as her own. We also ended up getting her brother Oscar. So now that both of them are together again they are always together with each other, they are inseparable. Having Soaphie this long she is still my best friend and I plan on having her for many more years to come.