Do you know what is more polarizing than politics? Furniture shopping.
It was a Saturday afternoon when my family decided to wreak havoc upon our local Rooms-To-Go attempting to find a new couch. My dad was already set on a (kinda ugly) brown couch, while my mom, sisters and I were all for the same much lovelier, gray couch. My dad was outnumbered. Gray couch wins, right? I was certain of it until my dad proposed this: let him get the couch he wants, and he will get us a dog.
Say less.
By Christmas, the Sevilleno’s had become a family of seven – the 7th of which was kind of furry and frequently bit ornaments off the tree. The little menace is now two years old and is named Kiro (rhymes with hero) Von Ghibli Sevilleno. He’s a German Shepherd (west, show line, if you want to get specific) who is 50% floppy-eared and 100% a good boy. He even crosses his paws when he sits. How demure.
Like most dogs, Kiro lives by the motto: ball is life. He has a particular affinity for tennis balls. Somehow, he’s managed to go through an entire caddy of tennis balls and to this day, I have no idea where they go.
Aside from his ball, Kiro enjoys…
- Walks and rolling in the grass
- Going to my brother’s soccer practices
- Pup cups (he tends to get a mustache)
- Splashing in kiddie pools
But don’t think it’s all just fun and games for Kiro. He takes his guard dog duties very seriously. If he’s not snoring on the couch, he’s posted at the door ready to defend us from his mortal enemy: the mailman.
The problem is that Kiro is not with me in Gainesville. Kiro is nearly 90 pounds and not carry-on sized. Yes, I tried packing him up with me to college:
Before Kiro, I couldn’t understand why people were so obsessed with their pets, but now I get it. They’re such genuine souls incapable of bad intentions. All they want is love and to be loved.
I didn’t expect it, but Kiro has made me a better person. He helped me through a dark time when he was my biggest motivation to get out of bed. By nurturing him, I felt motivated to be kinder to myself, as well as to others. I’ve learned a great deal about patience (the puppy phase was rough) and also how to live more in the moment.
So am I homesick or do I just miss my dog? I guess both. As much as I hate cliches, “home is where the heart is” has never resonated with me so much. I almost dread going home because of the inevitable goodbye, but I have to remind myself how lucky I am to have a friend who makes saying goodbye so hard. Thank you Kiro. You’re so worth the ugly brown couch.