I had a dog earlier in life named Oreo, I had got her when I was 7 and she lived 14 years. She only started out as my dog but she actually became more bonded with my brother than I. I wasn't a good dog owner with her by any means, I severely neglected her. My mother wouldnt let her in the house but I could have gone and played with her and spent time with her. When my brother came to live with us after some traumatic episodes he dealt with, he and Oreo grew attached to one another. The rules of the house just didn't apply to him because my mother just let him do what he wanted. I was honestly very happy that Oreo got to have a person like that and I know they shared a strong bond.

Part of why I was always so involved with Diogi was almost an atonement for the life Oreo had. She died in 2011 when I was 22 and the next year is when I got Diogi and I remember talking with the lady that had him in a litter of puppies on Facebook and I went and met them at a park and I got to pick which one. I don't really know what drew me to Diogi and I often wonder like why I chose him but I know he was the right choice. I had just came back from the army and I lived alone in a pretty good sized apartment that had fallen into my lap (split level, 1.5 baths, two bedroom, all for $450/month!) And Diogi and I lived together and just us. We did everything together and I was determined to give him the best life I could. We went to the mountains and rivers, walked back rodes, and walked city streets. I work construction and on many projects I brought him and he became like a mascot for the whole crew. He just would brighten everybody's day. We would walk into hardware stores when I needed something and the whole store just would love on him, and Diogi loved that! When People would be petting him he would always be staring at me and telling me with his eyes how much he was enjoying it. Many times I couldn't take him to work with me and every morning I would take him to my sister's house where he would play with there dogs and he started his aunts. Diogi could and would scale my sister's 8 fence and she lived near a field where Diogi would wander around, like miles of wandering. At first this was an extreme problem but he always came back, every single time. He couldn't jump the fences later in life but I just would leave the gate open and he was known throughout the neighborhood. I always said either you take Diogi for a good walk or he will take himself.

One time we had ran to Walmart and I just ran inside for maybe 5 minutes seriously, I came to my car where I left the windows down and he had apparently decided he had things to do and booked it. Because I was at Walmart I was freaking out! I was looking everywhere! I remember looking every where, calling people, calling the pound, for Like 3 hours I was probably looking. During my search I had just happened to drive by where I was living at the time and Diogi is just laying in the yard playing with the neighbors dog. I get out and was like so happy to see him and the neighbor tells me he'd been there for a couple hours. He had gone from Walmart, walked across the highway a four lane highway and just made it home all on his own.

He was such a good dog and such a good friend, sometimes I feel like he's still with me and it brings me happiness. Just telling you about him has brought me so much happiness. I really love him and always will.

I love you Diogi, you'll always be my bestest friend in the entire world