The Light of my Life (Through Midnight's Eyes)

Hi, I’m Midnight! I’m a 3.5-year-old Pit Bull mix. My mom’s name is Kelli. But she wasn’t always my mom.

When I was around 1 year old, my previous owners were looking to rehome me. Rather than take me to a shelter, they put me on the internet- they put me on someone’s list named Craig? (Whoever that is). It’s a bit of a blur how long they were looking for a new mom and dad for me. My mom says that she was a little sketched out about getting a dog from this Craig’s list- actually she was nervous about getting a dog at all! She had always been a cat person, never having had a dog in her life. It was my dad who convinced her to get a dog since he’s allergic to cats. Mom had known people who had or have dogs. Yeah, they were cute and all, but all that she knew about them was that they were usually big (bigger than a cat at least). And they were slobbery. And lots of them had a ton of energy. She had no idea what it was like to live with one.

Flash to August of 2015. Mom says her and dad were looking at Craig’s list one day and saw a picture of me. I guess I looked really cute that day because she says they knew I was the one for them. Dad contacted my owners at the time, and before I knew it I was in the car with Dad, laying in the front seat. Dad and I got home that day before Mom, but little did I know that not only was I gonna meet Mom, but Grandma and Grandpa (who didn’t even know Mom and Dad were LOOKING at dogs) were visiting too! They were a bit surprised when they walked in the door but they still spoil me to this day!

Even though Mom and Dad were both working at the time, Mom didn’t work nearly as much so she has always been the one to take care of me. She didn’t seem to like going to work all that much. She didn’t hate it, but she says she didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. She started to teach me these really cool tricks- like how to sit, lay down, shake. It took a bit of time but now I can balance treats on my nose! It’s taunting, but I always loved seeing the joy on Mom’s face when I hold it until she says “okay”. It didn’t take very long for this to become a normal thing for Mom and me to do together.

I know Mom was new at this whole dog thing, but she caught on really fast. Maybe it helped that I’m really smart too, but I could see a light starting to shine in her eyes the more she taught me new tricks. Before I knew it, she was watching videos of lectures on dog behavior for something called “college”. She always seemed so excited when she was learning stuff about dogs — more so than about the other stuff she was learning about.

When it was August of 2017, Mom started coming home smelling like other dogs. By this time, we had gotten my sister Moon, but these smells weren’t Moon, but other dogs I’d never met before. I would sniff Mom for nearly 10 minutes when she got home just wondering “where did all these dogs come from!” Nowadays, Mom comes home smelling like up to 30 to 40 dogs at a time. I’ve overheard her talking to Dad about a place called “Humane Society”, and I guess that’s where she works now. She’ll also talk about training classes a lot, and she’s doing some sort of online school to learn to train dogs.

One day, when Mom came home and smelled like those other dogs, I sniffed her and jumped up to her. I think she knew I was a bit jealous that she was spending all this time with them, because she kneeled down, looked me in the eyes and said, “Midnight, please don’t be jealous. You have done more for me than I could have ever imagined– You have shown me what I truly want to do with my life. I know it’s no fun to share me but I promise I will always love you first. I want to help these dogs as much as you have helped me. You are my inspiration. You are the light of my life.”

And so, I cuddled up in Mom’s lap, happy to spend the time with her that I have before she goes to help the other dogs once again.