Ms. Caminero and Mr. Castro decided to adopt Kira, a puppy who was abandoned with her siblings. A very active, well-tempered, attention-seeking and playfully clueless dog, Kira seemingly appeared out of nowhere into their lives.

While it may be hard to manage a high-energy dog, especially after a bad day, Ms. Caminero says that knowing there’s a dog that loves you and is excited to see you is a wonderful feeling. She also notes the responsibilities that come with having a dog. She mentions that it’s hard when you’re tired and don’t want to go out, but Kira doesn’t understand that, so it’s important to have someone else help out. Before, there’s no pressure to have a strict schedule, but with a dog, you need to take into account their needs as well. “That’s the challenging part of having a pet. It’s having responsibility, but at the end of the day there’s just someone who’s so excited to see you, where their heart is so big they just love you unconditionally.”

Having a dog also taught them patience and communication, as Kira understands certain commands but sometimes she chooses not to do them or does otherwise. “She’s pretty well trained, but sometimes she’s just ‘I don’t feel like it, I want to do my own thing,’ and I’ve learned that it’s ok. No one is going to always do what you want them to do all the time.” This also applies to students sometimes as well, where everyone is their own individual, and sometimes teachers don’t always get what they want.

Dog owners often send their dogs to training, expecting perfection in return. But why would you want a perfect dog if she could just be herself? “Of course I don’t want her to destroy my house and do things she’s not supposed to, but I still want her to be hyper, active and have her own personality. How lame would it be if every dog and every person was the same?” said Ms. Caminero. It can be stressful to parent a dog, but she ultimately said that they want Kira to just be herself. “We want her to explore, to have fun, and if that means maybe a little bit of a headache, so be it, because we chose to have a dog.”