My best friend for a long time was my dog, Shasta. I got him as a puppy and I kept him for many years. I gave him to a very nice family and visited him a lot in his new home. Unfortunately, I was a poor college student, and I couldn't find a place to keep him at the time because my income was low and I could only find small rooms to rent in apartments that did not allow pets. But I loved my dog so much that I did decide NOT to go to college until I found him a place. I wasn't about to put him in the pound, and I decided to wait on college because my first son--my dog--was more important than school. Still, I knew that I needed to get an education so I waited until I found a great owner.