Hope and Hudson. They are two of the most important words in my life.

Nearly two years ago, my parents picked me up from school and drove me out to Medina. They pulled into the driveway of a house I had never seen before. A lady walks out of the front door carrying a very tiny, fuzzy creature. I jumped out of the car coming to the realization that after years of begging and pleading, my parents finally got me a dog of my own. And I knew the perfect name for her, Hope. She was the absolute love of my life.

On Christmas Eve last year, Hope's parents had another litter of puppies. A few weeks later, my father and I traveled out to pick out another. I had my eyes on a caramel-colored girl with a black spot on her nose, but someone had a different idea. While I was sitting on the floor holding my prospective new puppy, I heard the loudest yelp you'd ever heard out of a four-week old puppy behind me.

This chubby ball of fur began crawling all over me, almost pushing the other puppy out of my lap. I thought I would be picking another puppy; I wasn't expecting for the puppy to pick me. That loud, little boy was soon named Hudson.

My dogs have completely changed my life. As I'm writing this, Hope is sleeping in my lap, and Hudson is chewing on my elbow, trying to get me to play.
About six years ago, I was diagnosed with hypertension from an ongoing illness that nearly took my life. As a result, I developed post-traumatic stress disorder and depression at age 11.

Since then, I've also been diagnosed with anxiety. I have panic attacks almost every day, and I sometimes find it difficult to gather the strength to get out of bed. But, I have two lovable balls of fur that put a smile on my face every morning. Seeing October is the month of St. Francis of Assisi's feast day, I decided it would be the perfect to write about how thankful I am for my amazing pups. Without them, I know I wouldn't have come as far as I have on my road to recovery. God has blessed me with two of the smartest animals on earth, and I thank Him for them every minute.