Few people truly understand the meaning of a best friend. A best friend can be a person, place, or thing. Humans, pets, stuffed animals, beach homes, and electronics are all examples of things that can be considered best friends. But what stands out to me in this list are pets. I’m not just talking about any pet, I’m talking about a dog.

Dogs come in all different shapes, sizes and breeds. But every person has a specific type of dog they like, or they just like how the dog acts, behaves, and treats others. I have a perfect example of a dog that I fell in love with about a year ago today.

Abandon, abused, and neglected. A few month year old pit bull puppy laying on wet concrete in freezing cold weather on a chilly November night. A puppy whose facial expressions were sad enough to even make a cold-hearted man shed a tear.

This puppy grew up with no food, besides what the kids walking home from school would throw at him. He was never loved, cared for, nor treated in a good manner. When locals would go down to this house and leave blankets and a bowl of water, the owner would become furious. Many people witnessed this man throw this poor dog’s only source of water and warmth into the street with anger.

I knew in my heart that something had to be done about this situation. I could not see this beautiful dog in pain anymore. But the sad part of it all, when anyone approached this puppy he would kindly come up and enjoy a nice pat on the head or a belly rub.

The neighbor of this horrible man had a young son who would always play with the puppy because the man was never home. The puppy wore a blue rope, tight around his neck with no name tag. Since there was no official name for this dog, the young boy would call him Mister.

Mister deserved a better life. A dog this sweet should have never gone through the pain and suffering that he endured. My family decided to take action.

Last year around this time, on a school night, around 1 A.M. my mom, my girlfriend, and friend all went down to help this poor pup due to the fact that temperatures that night were below freezing. At this point, we knew that a blanket, or bowl of food or water just wasn’t enough for the survival of Mister.

Oh yeah, before I continue, Mister is a pit bull, and never did I once let that phase me or my family in deciding his fate. If pit bulls are raised to be mean, they will be. But mister wasn’t raised to be anything. He was just neglected and wanted a real owner who loved, and cared about him.

Pulling up to this house we didn’t know what to expect. There were no lights on, no cars parked in the driveway, no plants, nothing. The only thing that stood out was a bright orange paper on the mailbox from the SPCA notifying this so called “owner” that if things didn’t change this beautiful puppy would be taken.

The sad thing is, if someone didn’t get Mister out of these horrible conditions, the cold, hunger, and broken heart would take the life of Mister. We needed to get him out, so that’s what we did.

I opened the fence and there Mister was, standing five feet in front of me. I called for him. His head slowly raised up, his tail began wagging and Mister knew that his fight for survival and love was over. I approached him, grabbed him, and began to love him. Mister walked out, and jumped right into the back seat of our car.

Never once did it phase me knowing that Mister was a pit bull. We took him to the vet that night, he received the health care that he desperately needed. Seven days later, Mister became our new family member.

As each day passed Mister became more and more comfortable with everyone around him. He began to actually know the true meaning of being loved. our family decided to set his name as Mr. Mister, since that is what he is use to being called.

Now Mr. Mister’s birthday is this month and he is a gentle baby, who is treated like royalty. For a puppy who has never stepped foot inside a house in his life, he adjusted very well to his new environment. Mister enjoys going to the dog park every night and playing tug of war. Not to mention the fact that he thinks he is a lap dog.

Life comes with a lot of happiness, and rescuing Mister from his soon to be grave was one of the best feelings that I could ever imagine. Never judge a book by its cover, because that book can be the reason your life is changed in a positive way forever.