My dog Arla

My dog Arla is like a polar bear and has fluffy white adorableness.

Arla is about 5 years old. We got her in the spring on the weekend from a dog breeder about a 2-hour drive away from our house.

When we got there we were going to get a boy dog with a black ring around his butt. His name was going to be Ring Butt or Butt Ring. We decided on Ring Butt, when all of a sudden a little white puppy charged through. We looked at each other for what felt like a minute, and I held her.

I looked up at my dad and said, “This is the dog, can we get her?”

Then he immediately said, “How much?”

After we picked her out, the breeder let the mom in to feed her puppies. After we met the puppies’ dad, the owner tied a black ribbon around our puppy’s neck so we knew it was her. The owner told us that she is a great white Pyrenees mixed with a Newfie. When we left she said we could come back to get her in 6 weeks. Then we drove home.

The 6 weeks took forever. In the meantime, we had to pick a name. What would it be? Daddy looked up unique girl dog names and wrote them on sticky notes. Then he stuck them to the wall. There were about 12 names. I eliminated some of them, and Bella, Arla and Princess were the last three. I eliminated Bella, and we were left with Arla and Princess. I finally chose... Arla!

I wanted Princess, too, so Princess is her middle name. Her name is Arla Princess Imhoff. While we waited to go pick up our new puppy, the dog breeder sent us pictures, and Arla smiled every time.

After the 6 weeks, which felt like 6 years, we went to go get her. We put blankets in the back of the truck in case she peed or puked. I could not sit still on the way there. Finally we got her and headed home.

She did really good in the car. After 30 minutes we walked her on the pink leash we got her. Then we headed to Joe, Kylie and Lily’s house. Lily is about 3 years older than I am. They loved Arla so much.

Then we headed home. Arla did not puke or pee in the car. We got home and brought her inside, and Daddy, me and the newest member, Arla, started our life together.

Now Arla weighs about 200 pounds! She loves to play! And the best part of all is I love her and she loves me.

Aleiya Imhoff is a student in Tamie Muncy’s fifth-grade class at Copenhagen Central School.