I believe in playing with my dogs every day. When I play with my dogs, I feel actual joy, which is hard for me to find. Throughout the day, I am constantly confronted with stressful situations from tests to frustrations with friends. Even coming home, I am stressed because it can take an hour to arrive at my house from my school. When I arrive home, my two dogs, Bilbo and Merlin, are always happy to see me. Nobody in my life is ever as excited to see me as my dogs. Their excitement makes me feel like I am wanted no matter what kind of day I have had. Even if I feel like my friends are judging me, I know that my dogs will always love me.

When I play with my dogs, I do not have to worry about anything besides my dogs. All my stresses disappear when I play with my dogs, so I find the activity to be a major stress reliever. I also develop joy when I see how happy my dogs are when I play with them. Their joy makes me feel like I am needed and have a value that is not based on grades. Even when I feel like I do not have enough value, I know that my dogs see my value when I play with them.

It was not until recently that I realized the value of playing with my dogs. A few months ago, one of my dogs, Lizzie, died. I grew up with her, so I was devastated when she died. After her death, I regretted not spending more time with her. If I could have more time with her, I would spend hours playing with her. She would always get so happy and excited whenever I threw one of her toys for her to retrieve. I miss playing with her every day and would give anything to play with her again. Now that she is gone, I appreciate every second that I can play with my remaining dogs. I do not want to waste time that I could be appreciating my dogs while I still have them. As a result, I ensure that I play with my dogs every day no matter how stressed I am.

I believe in playing with my dogs every day because it brings joy to myself and my dogs. It allows for me to grow closer to my dogs while showing my dogs how much I care about them. I will always treasure the time I spend playing with my dogs. Never underestimate the power playing with one’s dogs can have.