When I was growing up, my family had a dog named Brandy. A kid couldn’t have asked for a better friend to teach her countless life lessons. Here are a few of my favorite doggy life lessons that have stuck with me over the years:

1. Money can’t buy happiness or love.
Brandy wasn’t a designer dog or a purebred pup. She was abused and neglected, and eventually saved by a rescue organization. We didn’t need to spend thousands of dollars with a breeder to get the world’s best dog, and to save a life with a heart that was far greater than what her experiences with people should have left her with.

2. Don’t worry about what other people think.
Brandy wasn’t the only pet in our house. I also had a cat named Cupcake – and despite the fact that everyone says dogs and cats aren’t supposed to get along, Brandy and Cupcake were best friends. They played together, napped together, and explored the outdoors together. They never let societal expectations define who they were supposed to be and how they were supposed to act.

3. Be kind to everyone you meet, and withhold judgment.
My childhood dog did not know a stranger. Despite the fact that she had been abused and neglected, she was always willing to meet new people and make friends with everyone that came her way, from animals to humans.

4. Find your passion and chase it.
While Brandy was normally calm, cool, and collected, when she saw a squirrel she thought she had a chance of catching, she would chase after it as fast as she could go – even trying to follow them up the trees they inevitably used as escape routes.

5. Acknowledge that every day has the potential to be awesome.
My dog had no idea what each day would look like, what we would do, or where we would go. She didn’t know if she’d wake up and find that she got to go for a ride in the car or have to hang out at home for a little while by herself while her family was at work and school. She didn’t know if a trip would end at a park or at the vet’s. It didn’t matter, because each had was full of potential, and she woke up happy every single day.

Brandy passed away a long time ago, but I still think of her often and I miss her dearly. She was a superhero of a pup who taught me an awful lot about being kind, giving people a chance, and what it’s like to have a true friend by your side.