A year or two after that we actually got a puppy! In school we had to write an essay about what we wanted more than anything and, of course, I said I wanted a pet, though I have no idea if that had anything to do with it. 
She was a cocker spaniel which was the kind of dog my Dad (the animal lover) had as a kid and though she was "our" dog, you know whose dog she really was. I loved that dog more than anything, always. 
My aunt and uncle (who always trained his own dogs) gave my Dad a book on training cocker spaniels, but I was the one who read the book and I taught that dog everything I could think of. She would sit and stay and play hide and seek and even did tricks, like balancing a cookie on her nose until I gave her the signal, then she'd toss it in the air before she caught and ate it. 
We had that dog for almost 15 years and of course I thought I'd never have another dog, but they seem to find me. I adopt older dogs now. I found my beloved Barney on TV, when he was up for adoption on the "Pet Connection" of the local news. My mother called me because there was such a resemblance and I called before the segment was even over... 
They said he was 10 or 11, had spent his entire life at a "commercial kennel," needed a "special home" because he had never lived with people and wasn't housebroken. Of course, I knew that was the dog for me! The very next day, my mother and I drove over an hour to meet Barney. He was such a beautiful dog with the best temperament and I had him for wonderful eight years!
I don't have a pic online of my first puppy, but here's my Barney: 
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