Have you ever been so excited for something that you worked really hard for it? I have an experience working for something that I really wanted… a puppy. My brother Mitch and I worked extremely hard to get a puppy, but as a ten and a eight year old it was really difficult. We had to be on our very best behavior for a certain number of days in order to get a puppy. I learned that if you really want something, you have to earn it.

In the fall of 2013, my brother was in fourth grade and I was in second. When everyone at school has a puppy, of course you want one too!

    “Mom, can we pleeeeease get a puppy,” I begged my mom.

    “Well,” she began, “They’re a lot of work, so maybe when you are older.”

Being eight this was really hard news, so I informed my mom, in case she didn't know, “Everyone else a school has a puppy,” I exaggerated. Not everyone has a puppy, but I still wanted one.

Mitch came in and stated, “Yeah, we should get a dog!”

Then my mom had to explain to him what she told me, that we could get a dog when we were a little bit older. Mitch and I were a disappointed and we went to bed.

The next day, before getting ready for school, we raced into the kitchen, where my mom was making oatmeal for breakfast, and packing our lunches for school.

Synchronized, Mitch and I said, “We are a little bit older, can we get a dog now?”

My mom chuckled and said, “We will talk about it tonight with dad, now go get dressed!”

We ran quickly into our room and got ready for school, anxious to get the day over with so we could talk about the puppy we were going to get. At least that’s what I believed.

When Mitch and I got home from school, we asked my mom once more when we could talk about getting a puppy.

My mom reminded us, “We will talk about it when your dad gets home from work, okay?”

“Okay,” we both said and Mitch followed by asking, “When will dad be home?”

Mom told us that dad would be home at about 8 o’clock and that we could talk to him after we got our homework done and all ready for bed. So I ran to the kitchen, plopped down in a dining room chair, and started my homework. When finished, I put my homework back in my folder and noticed a dog book in my backpack. I remembered that I checked it out at my school library that same day. I started to read the book and tried to take in as much information about dogs that I could.

Eight o’clock came super slow. Soon it was 8:05 and dad was still not home. Mom, Mitch, and I sat down for dinner. A few minutes later I heard the key turn and the door open. I raced from the dinner table, and ran to greet my dad at the door.

“Dad!” I exclaimed, “Come on, come on, come to the table so we can decide if we can get a puppy!”

“Okay,” Dad said as he came into the the kitchen and sat down in the dining room for dinner.

My mom explained that if we could go thirty days on best behavior, which meant helping her, doing our chores, and getting along with one another, we could get a puppy in the spring. Mitch and I were stunned and our faces became pink with excitement.

The next day we helped my mom out, did our chores, and cohabitated with each other very nicely so we could make it one day closer to meeting a sweet, little puppy. The weeks rolled by and my mom searched for breeders on the internet, discussing with my dad. Our family decided on one girl name, Lucee, and one boy name, Rusty to name our future dog.

A few weeks later Mom told us that she had found a breeder.

“Hey Mitch, come in here,” Mom called in an excited voice which lightened our faces and widened our eyes, “Elle go get dad and meet Mitch and I in the dining room!”

“Okay,” I called back to my mom and raced out to get my dad.

“Hey Dad, come into the kitchen, Mom has something to tell us!” I exclaimed.

As soon as we all were in the dining room, my mom explained, “I found a breeder for poochon puppies. A poochon is a…”

“A poochon is a mixed breed that is half toy poodle and half bichon frise,” I cut my mom off, “I learned in the book I had checked out at school!”

“Anyway,” Mom continued after smirking and giggling at me, “The breeder is in Washington and she has a little girl puppy available. The breeder suggested this puppy, instead of her smaller sister, because the breeder thought she would coped better with kids. I talked to Dad about this and we agreed to email her. The next day, the breeder replied and sent a few pictures,” Mom said, and then showed us the pictures.

She was so cute. In the picture she had brown, big eyes, a little black, button nose, and white and caramel colored, fluffy fur. She had the cutest look of innocence on her small face sitting next to her sister.  She was only two pounds.

Mom added, “We each need to send the puppy one of our shirts so the she can get used to us through our smells,” then Mom finished by saying, “We can go get her on Spring Break in a few weeks if you want,” she asked Mitch and I with a big grin on her face.

Mitch and I just sat there for a minute, in shock and excitement. Then we both shouted, “Yes!” and got up and thanked our parents in gratitude.

“How will we get to Washington?” I asked Dad.

“In our motorhome,” he responded, “After we pick her up we’ll go to Maryhill Park and camp for a few days!”

Mom added, “I told the breeder we decided on the name Lucee, so she could help the puppy learn her new name.”

    Spring Break came too slow. We wanted to go and get our puppy. But eventually it came, and we got ready to pick up Lucee. But first we went to the store. We picked up a polka-dot blue, black, and white collar and matching leash, some puppy food and bowls, a fluffy bed, some small blankets, a few cute toys, and some treats. We put that all in the motorhome. And started on the road to central Washington.

    When we got to the breeder’s farm, we saw this itty, bitty, little puppy. She now weighed less than three pounds! My parents talked to the breeder and signed some paperwork, and then we drove to the campground to enjoy our new puppy, Lucee.

    In conclusion, I learned that you have to work for something you really want. You should work for things that are important to you. I am so grateful for Lucee to this day. My family and I have enjoyed watching her grow and become a good companion. To this day, I strive hard for important goals. Have you ever worked for something you really wanted?