My 8-month-old, 70 pound catalyst

7 months ago, I did something that everyone around me warned against: I adopted a puppy. How is this a bad idea you ask? Because I'm a 21-year-old college student with a crazed schedule, limited income, and a type-A-take-on-more-than-I-can-handle personalilty. Let me just mention that all of these statements are true (I wouldn't want to mislead you, my few but loyal readers).

When I brought Kona home, she was 5 weeks old and about 12 pounds. She was adorable, a huge hit with my reluctant friends, and a good listener. The rescue that I worked with to get Kona is a wonderful organization based out of Mt. Pleasant, S.C. They told me that she was a boxer mix...mixed with what?....probably something on the small side, was the response that I received.

As the weeks went by, the tides turned.

1) I found out from our vet that Kona was not just a boxer mix, but a boxer mixed with great dane. Yikes...a combo for a HUGE dog.

2) The little darling turned into a wild child: assaulting my friends and house guests, destroying my home and the assorted odds and ends that fill it, and slowly turning my mother against us both.

3) I also found out that Kona's papa was rescued from a dog fighting ring and was a very aggressive, unpredictable, and uncontrollable dog (traits that are hereditary)

Everyone in my life urged me to find Kona a new home, with an individual with loads of free time and unlimited income to better acquiesce to her needs. I must admit, I considered it, but only for a few seconds.

And boy am I glad that I shook that notion out of my mind. In the past few months, I have begun to realize that getting Kona marked a new phase in my life. I took an idea that I felt was possible and healthy and went against all the "shoulds" that people threw at me. The concept that I now have a beautiful (albeit GIANT) teenage puppy has given me a new-found confidence to trust my instincts and try new things. She has been my catalyst to engage in a 'year of firsts' and try everything i've ever wanted to try. As cliche as it sounds, rescuing Kona changed my life and allowed me to see past the "shoulds" and attempt the things that everyone says are impossible and terrible ideas.

Terrible ideas....don't you just love those?