If you find yourself sad or depressed, get a little dog.

I love dogs. That's really weird beacuse I hated dogs until about 3 years ago. I come from a VERY long line of cat people and was raised thinking that dogs were the devil. That basically they are noisy, foul smelling monsters who destroy everything the come into contact with and are a constant nuissance. I knew several dogs growing up who proved my hypothesis correct. I also was never fond of the jumping up and crotch sniffing.
On the other hand, I was raised to believe that cats are naturally refined, elegant creatures with distinctive taste. Basic message: Cats good, dogs bad.
When I got married we started trying to have kids almost immediately and after a year or so realized that it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. I hit a really low point after our first official year of trying when I was labeled medically infertile (infertility is defined medically for women under 35 as having regular intercourse without contraceptives and without conceiving for 1 year, in case you were wondering). I hit a brick wall emotionally and slumped into a MAJOR depression. Someone suggested to me that I get a pet because having something to play with and nurture that could reciprocate love and affection might help me not be so sad all of the time, which I thought at first was a buch of hooey. After some serious thought on the matter, however, I decided to go for it.
I obviously wanted a cat because of my long-standing hate relationship with most other animals, but Luis hates cats more than I hate waking up early to work out, so that was clearly not an option. I tried to convince him to let me get a bird, a hamster, a guinea pig, a turtle... a fish! Nothing. He was raised by a father who believes domestic animals are disease ridden, useless, and filthy and have no business being around humans, so he didn't really care for the idea of having any pets. However, one day I was at Life Skills kicking it with my homies and the CNA that we had on-staff then got a phone call from her sister asking if Cami (the CNA) knew anyone who wanted a dog. I jumped on it.
Turns out the lady had recently purchased a pure-bred, papered Chihuahua for $350, had paid for all the shots, licensing, training, accessories, food, outfits, leashes, etc., and then found out she was 6 weeks pregnant with her 3rd child under 4. Aside from incapacitating morning sickness, stress, and overall anxiety, her pregnancy also brought along an acute allergy to her new puppy and after much debate the family decided they needed to get rid of their little dog. She'd spent $600 total for the puppy, but was letting it go for $300. I talked her down to $100, and picked up Bella the next day. Her name was really Anabelle, and they called her Belle, but I didn't want to offend my SIL and MIL (both named Ana) and I hate Disney Princesses, so I changed it to Dolce la Bella and that's my doggy's official AKC registered name. She's the biggest, fattest, spottiest pure-bred chihuahua in the world, I think, and I love her. She likes peanut butter, tomatoes, taking long walks, and barking at the post-man.
Walking Bella, bathing Bella, and training Bella became my full-time-hobby for a while, and let me tell you- it did the trick. Luis didn't want to get her but he disliked dogs less than all the other animals I'd suggested, and when he saw how happy Bella made me, he was sold. She's such a good dog that she totally won him over after a few months, and then she converted the rest of Luis's family to dogs as well. Now his two little sisters both have pets, and Ana actually has 4 chihuahuas. Bella turned 3 this April, and she's going strong. She had a litter of 4 puppies last October.
We got another dog 6 months after Bella as a companion dog when I went to work at Dixon full time. Our 2 year old poodle Star looked just like the dog on "Zoolander" and we loved her a lot. We also loved to put her in silly outfits and yell "obey my dog" at random. We loved her even more so because we rescued her from an abusive situation and nursed her back to health. She was rail thin and clearly had been beaten. I spent the first two weeks she was with us nursing her on bread soaked in chicken stock because she was too emaciated and weak to eat. She regained full health and was actually carrying a litter of puppies we think when she was tragically struck by a car only 7 months after we got her. We still miss her to this day. However, we immediately replaced her with a third puppy, Leyla, because Bella stopped eating and wouldn't get out of bed after Star died. Leyla is a silver purebred miniature poodle with champion bloodlines. She is hilarious, and the major reason why I'm writing this post. Today I gave her a haircut (yes, I clip and groom my own pets, and they're freakin' adoreable) which is always a pain in the butt, but SO necessary for their health and sanity. The funny thing, though, is that every time I cut Leyla's hair and bathe her, afterward the thinks she has developed some sort of super power and she goes running through the house like she's on speed. It's SOOO funny! She ran up and down our main hallway like 4 times in one minute, and then lapped the entire 3rd floor of our hous a half a dozen times before shooting out the dog door like a rocket. She's still bouncing around a half hour later, and I'm still laughing out loud.
So, if you're sad, lonely, depressed, or just feeling blue, find yourself a little dog. They really do the trick. Mine have really brought a lot of joy to my life and I'm so thankful for their honest, loyal companionship every day of my life. I always hated dogs, but after living with two clean, happy, healthy, well-trained dogs for almost 3 years now, I totally understand why they say dogs are man's best-friend. If you doubt me, stop in for a visit. I'm sure the girls would be more than happy to send some love your way.