My Boo Radley

            This was a very hard question for me, but once I really thought about it, something came to mind. Although, what I am about to write about is recent and not when I was a young child, but I still think it is a very important aspect of my life.
            When I was three years old, my family moved to Olympia, Washington. Later that year, the "Easter Bunny" brought my family a dog, Buddy. He was the first pet I ever had. We had a big backyard, and either he was running around in the back, or sleeping in house. We always played with him and cared for him. Since I can remember, he had always been there, seeing his adorable face every day, coming with us wherever we went, and playing with us all the time.
            Eventually my sister went off to college and my brother and I were in middle school. We were all so busy with sports, homework, and friends, but whenever we looked in the backyard, Buddy would always be there.
            One year he didn't run very fast anymore or chase after the his toys. I was worried about him,but couldn't imagine anything could be wrong. He wasn't eating, so my parents took him to the vet, came back nothing more was said on the matter. About a week later, my sister was home at the time, we were all sitting in the living room and my parents turned off the TV. They told us Buddy was really sick and had cancer. My parents told us they were taking him to get put asleep tomorrow morning.This news hit me so hard, just a few words and I couldn't stop crying. He didn't seem that old to me, he still seemed like the puppy he was when we first got him. My dad said we could go with him to put Buddy to sleep or not.
            My dad, sister, and I were the only ones who went. I don't think anyone needs details on that, I'll just say it was a very sad day.
            The point of that long story was to better explain my Boo Radley. Not even a month later, my brother and sister wanted another dog. I have always loved dogs so I went along with them, but I missed Buddy too much. We went to the pound anyway and there was a very cute puppy, we pet her and she liked us too. We actually got her, even though it hadn't even been that long since we put Buddy to sleep.
            My Boo Radley was when we brought this new dog home. She was all happy and kept trying to get me to pet her, but I couldn't. I was afraid that Buddy would be watching in doggy heaven and be upset with me. I know that some people probably think that is silly, but I believe it. I didn't want to pet, play, or get attached to this dog. I was afraid I would love her. I was afraid that maybe I didn't give Buddy enough attention or didn't play with him enough so if I didn't with Buddy why should I give it to this new dog?
            She seemed sad and I eventually realized that petting her and making her happy made me feel better about Buddy. I loved Buddy with all my heart and didn't want to let him go, but he knew it and I will always remember him. And I believe that he would want me to give attention to other dogs to make them as happy as I made him. We named the new dog Lucy and she is a wonderful dog, just like Buddy was.
            My experience relates with Scout's experiences to Boo Radley because she was afraid of him and what would happen if she met him. I was afraid of loving Lucy, and what would happen if I did or didn't. All is well, sorry my blog was so long this time! :)