Brooke+Bandola


 * Memoir **

“Can we please get a dog?” I asked my dad. “No, sorry,” my dad replied. Every since I was about three I have loved dogs. They are my favorite animal. When I was three, I remember I would ask my dad the same question everyday. “Can we please get a dog?” Sadly, he would always say no. But one day when I was almost four, my dad got tired of me asking him the same question constantly, so he told me that when I turn five we can get a dog. Since I would be more responsible at five, my dad said I have to wait. Waiting for a long time, it seemed as if one year had passed decades ago. Although, I knew when I turned five, all of the time that I waited would be worth it. I remember I would cross off the days on the calendar everyday so that I could see how much longer untill I was five. I used to count how many days where left untill my birthday. I waited and waited for what seemed like forever, but finally my birthday had come. “Can you bring me to the pet store today?” I asked my dad. “No, sorry we can’t,” my dad answered. “But you said that you would bring me to the pet store on my birthday,” I said sadly. “I know, but we are having people over our house today so we can’t. I promise I will bring you tomorrow because we aren’t doing anything tomorrow. I’m really sorry,” my dad added. “You told me that you where going to take me to get a dog when I turned five, and now you are making me wait longer?” I asked. “It,s only one more day, and I promise I will bring you tomorrow.” my dad responded. “Its only one more day!” I told myself. For the rest of the day I had a lot of fun. It seemed the day had gone by fast, which was a good thing because I would be closer to getting a dog. The next day I was so excited! The waiting had finally been over. Today was the day that I was going to the pet store with my family to pick out a dog. We looked at a lot of different dogs but one of them was our favorite. It was a Lemon Beagle. I knew that the dog was perfect. She was really small, she was white with brown spots, and she seemed really nice. My parents didn’t want to get a big dog so the good thing was that the Lemon Beagle would grow up to be only medium sized. We visited the dog every couple of days and we decided that we were going to get the dog. The bad thing is that we couldn’t take the dog home that day because she was too young. The people at the store said that we would have to wait three weeks before we could bring the dog home. My family really wanted the dog so we decided to come back in three weeks to buy the dog. During those three weeks, we looked up things on the computer about the dog because we needed to know what the dog was like and what it does. Three weeks later, we went back to the dog store and bought the Lemon Beagle. I ran over to my dad, gave him a big hug, and said thank you. I was thrilled that I finally got a dog. I had waited for about two years and the waiting had finally been over. I had totally forgotten about how long I had waited because I had finally got what I had waited for. While I was in the car on the way home, I can see that the dog was very happy. When we got home, I let the dog walk around the house so that she could get used to her new home. Later I had to put her downstairs in the basement because she wasn’t trained yet. My parents said that she could go upstairs when she was trained. When my parents told me this, I was kind of sad because I wanted the dog to be able to go in my room. I would of have let my dog sleep on my bed and go in my room whenever she wanted. I felt bad for my dog because she wasn’t able to anywhere else in my house except for the basement. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I thought to myself, “At least the basement is big and there is a couch that she can sleep on, instead of the floor or a dog bed.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My family decided to sit down and think of what we should name the dog. We looked up some names on the computer but we didn’t like any of them. My favorite baseball player used to be Derek Jeter. He is on the New York Yankees and his position is shortstop. He is a really good baseball player and since he was my favorite player, I thought that we should name her Jeter. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Can we name her Jeter?” I asked. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“No, because the dog is a girl not a boy,” my mom answered. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“I don’t care! I think we should name her Jeter,” I said. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“I do too!,” my brother yelled. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Since my family just got a dog, we wanted to spend a lot of time with her, so we went in the backyard and her run around. Some of my neighbors came outside to see the dog. Most of my neighbors don’t have a dog, so they were happy to have a dog in the neighborhood. They were all surprised that we named her Jeter. My neighbors really liked her and she was a really good dog. Later, my family went inside our house and talked about how my brother and I would have to help take care of the dog. I knew that if I got a dog, I would have to be more responsible, so I told my parents that I would help. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Even though I agreed to walk and feed my dog, I don’t always do it. Usually my dad feeds my dog and no one really walks my dog because we let her go in the backyard. Sometimes she will go outside all day and sit on the deck, especially in the Summer. I think my dog always likes to be outside because she is a Lemon Beagle, and Beagles are always outside. Some people use Beagles when they go hunting. They find the animals for people. Beagles do a lot of things to help people. Some police officers use Beagles to sniff out drugs or bombs. I think that Beagles are very talented dogs. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When we got my dog, she was very sick. When we took her to the vet for her shots, the doctor told us that she was very sick and she needed to go to the hospital for surgery. I remember after her surgery, she had one of her paws wrapped up and she had a cone around her neck. After she had surgery, she was in the hospital for a couple of days so I really missed her. I felt so bad for my dog because she was so young and she had had surgery already. Since that day my dog has been sick. I feel bad for her everyday. She has been on a lot of different medications, but none of them have worked. The good thing is that she hasn’t had surgery since she was about two years old. My dog has been through a lot. She fell down my deck stairs and bit her tounge, so her tounge was bleeding. She fell down the deck stairs some other times and the disk in her neck moved, so she couldn’t move her neck for a while. Even though all of this has happened to her, now she seems a lot better. If one day my parents find a medication for her that worked, I would be the happiest person in the world because how would you feel if you had an animal. or a relative, or a friend, that was sick their whole life and you finally found a medication that worked? You would be really happy too. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ever since the day that I got her, she has been a very good dog. She never really ran away, but when she did, it wasn’t far. She would go to a neighbors house or down the street. I remember one time when she got off the leash in the backyard, I didnt know where she went, so I walked around my neighborhood yelling, “Jeter!” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I was really scared because I didn’t know where she went, but when I got home she was sitting on my front lawn. I ran over to her and said, “Good girl!” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I said this to her because she came home. She found her way home. I wanted to make sure that if she ever ran away again, that she would come home, so later I kept telling her, “Good girl!” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> I was so happy because I was really scared. I didn’t know where she went. The good thing is that at that time, she used to go for walks all of the time, so she was able to see her surroundings and thats how she found her way home. I think that all dogs can find their way home if their owners walk them around their neighborhood. If I worked at a pet store or a dog store, I would tell my customers to walk their dogs around the neighborhood every once in a while, so that if the dog ever runs away, it can find its way home. I think that if you tell people this, it is very helpful. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">People don’t always know how to take care of a dog, so I made sure that I took care of her the right way. You have to show that you care about them by feeding them, waking them, and spending time with them. If you don’t do this, then the dog might go against you and not like you. When I first got my dog, I spent a lot of time with her because I wanted to make sure that she liked me. I would always walk her, feed her, and spend time with her. Even now I like to spend time with her. Sometimes I go downstairs at night and watch tv and sit next to her. I would pet her and sometimes she would fall asleep on my legs so I would end up waking her up when I went to bed. I know that my dog care about my family and I because if we go somewhere, when we come home she will always be laying on a blanket that we used or she will be laying in a spot that we layed on. This is because she smells our scent. When the dog smells your scent, they feel safe and they fell like your still around. There are a lot of things that make a dog stay calm when people aren’t home. One of my neighbors leaves the radio on for their dog because when the radio is on, it seems like someone is home and then the dog feels safe. When a dog feels safe, they will be calm and they won’t bark. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My dad and I love making jokes about my dog. My dad and I are both Red Sox fans so we always said that our dog is a Red Sox fan, but my brother said that our dog is a Yankees fan because my brother is a Yankees fan. The reason why we think that our dog is a Red sox fan is because the year that we got her, the Red Sox won the World Series. I remember my dad was so happy. I remember hearing him scream, “This dog is a good luck charm!” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Even though we don’t know what football team she likes because the Jets, Raiders, or Cowboys haven’t won the Super Bowl since we have had her, I think that she is a Cowboys fan because I like the Cowboys. I know shes a dog but we still fight over what teams she likes. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Now my dog is eight and she still loves to go outside and be with people. My dog is very important to me because she is the first dog that I have ever had. I really hope that she lives a lot longer because I would really miss her. When I get older, I want to have a lot more dogs, but the first dog I have ever had, Jeter, will always be the most important to me.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have a lot of great memories with my dog that I will remember forever. Even though she has always been sick, sometimes I can tell that she is happy. She gets really happy when she sees my neighbors or family members. Especially the neighbors and family members that pet her and give her treats. Some of the memories that I have with her are from when I am downstairs with her and when I am outside with her. My dog does some really funny things and I love being with her. Sometimes she is annoying and sometimes she might bark, but that’s what dogs do, so no matter what I will always love her. **


 * The Importance of Exercise **


 * Exercise. It is one of the most important thing for a human being. Exercise can decrease the chances of heart problems and other serious problems for children and adults. I know you're thinking, “Why is the importance of exercise important around the world now?” Well I have an answer to that question and I know how we can prevent children and adults from having heart problems and other serious problems. **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">** Adults. Adults need to exercise every once in awhile too. They need to stay in shape. Many adults go to the gym everyday and eat healthy. People are inventing a lot of different things to help adults with weight loss, including foods and exercise equipment. I know a lot of adults go to the gym because when I go, I always see a lot of adults. Also a lot of adults use Weight Watchers to lose weight. I think every adult should work out everyday and eat healthy foods. ** **There are many things that can help people exercise and stay healthy. Now many people use Weight Watchers and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Also most adults and teenagers go to a gym. My family and I go to the gym almost everyday because they have exercise machines, weights, basketball courts, swimming pools and more. I enjoy going to the gym because it helps me stay in shape for basketball and softball. When I run on the treadmill, it helps me run longer in games and it helps me run faster.**
 * Children. Do u want your child to be healthy when they get older? Do you want them to have a long life? If children do not get enough exercise, as they grow up they might have health problems. This is one of the main reasons why students have gym and recess. Gym and recess allow students to run around, play games and exercise. It helps students stay in shape. This is why I enjoy having gym right after lunch. I get to work off the food that I just ate at lunch and it helps keep me healthy. In my opinion, I think that students should have a longer gym period. **


 * I hope that after people read this, they will consider going to a gym or doing something to help make people healthy. Working out for just sixty minutes a day can make a huge difference in your life. No matter where you are and what you are doing, there is always a place that you can exercise. As you can see, exercise is very important not only to adults, but kids too. **