My dog is named Trip and I adopted him when he was six weeks old. He was the cutest little furball I had ever seen and it was almost like I had a child to raise. I was twenty one years old and he was the first dog I had that I was completely responsible for. When I was twenty two I bought a house and had to keep him on a tie down for the first year and a half until I fenced in my property, during which time he got loose on two separate occasions and arrested on one. I picked up Trip from animal control on my lunch break, within hours of his arrest; Outside of his incarceration it seemed like he had great joyride in the neighborhood, minus the hundred sticker burrs I brushed out of him later that afternoon. I paid $100.00 to bail him out of doggie prison that day and incurred another $150.00 fine along with a tongue lashing from a municipal judge insinuating that I didn’t take good care of my pet because my property wasn’t fenced in at the time. While I admit, it wasn’t ideal for a dog with his spirit, we had to work with the choices I made and we persevered all the stronger.

Not long after that, with the help of friends I fenced in my entire property (approx 1/2 acre) and Trip was set free. I had previously been broken into twice and it now seemed that Trip was taking just as good care of me as I was him. Living in a lower income neighborhood houses are broken into frequently and lawn tools (mowers & weed eaters) are a dime a dozen, but my problems like that quickly dissapated with his freedom (as the judge would phrase it). Years later Trip communicated to me it was time to install a doggy door, because after all he was potty trained and a big boy that should be allowed to come and go inside the house as he pleases. After all it would save me the time of touch up painting and trim repair from him trying to figure out how to operate the doors & windows himself.

I am twenty eight years old now and single, so Trip and I share a cozy 944 sq ft bachlor pad on a 1/2 acre all to ourselves and couldn’t be any happier with the daily routine. I pay the bills and he takes care of the house pending payment in at least, one pig ear a day (all dogs love em’). I believe trip is a border collie/lab mix and shares similar features with Mark’s dog Pepsi. Trip has been a blessing in my life, is a faithful friend and always seems to do something quite funny when I’m feeling down. I encourage anyone who doesn’t already have a dog to go out & get one. With a little personal responsibility and love they can be potty trained and provide years of companionship. Trip can shake on command w/left and right paw, sit, lay down, and roll over. Also, when he feels like it he do absolutely nothing I’m asking him to do, but I still love him.

— Ben from Ft. Worth, TX