Smaug was special from the very beginning. I was still in high school when I was struck with the desire to have a bearded dragon. I had seen videos and pictures of them on the internet, and I fell in love. My parents were vehemently against having a lizard in their house, but I persisted. I put lizard figurines all over the house and hung up pictures of bearded dragons on the refrigerator and even wrote a comprehensive essay detailing why I wanted a bearded dragon so badly and respectfully asking that they give me a chance. The good-humored persuasion finally paid off, and they agreed to let me get one.
So I set out to a nice pet store out of town with my boyfriend (he's my hubby now!). We found the bearded dragon tank and there were all these adorable little lizards scurrying around. They were all a gray color... except one. One was bright orange. It just so happens orange is my favorite color. I asked one of the attendants why the orange one was different from the others, and she said that he had been dropped off by some guy who had bought it for his girlfriend. They broke up 2 weeks later, she didn't want the poor little thing, so it was returned to the pet store. He was orange because he was a different morph from the others, what breeders call a "citrus" morph.
That's when I knew that I had to have the orange one. I bought him as a little baby and decided to name him Smaug after the fierce, gold-hoarding dragon from The Hobbit. I watched him grow, and everyone who encountered him just thought he was awesome. Even my parents got attached. He's so inquisitive and comfortable around people (I have handled him frequently since the day I got him).
What really cemented our bond was when we had to endure an ice storm together. I live in Kentucky, and a couple of winters ago we had an ice storm so severe that there was no power for weeks. Everything was coated in a sheet of solid ice 5 inches thick. It was miserable and terribly cold. A few people died in their homes, and everything was in such bad shape that it made national news. O.O This was especially bad for Smaug. Being a cold blooded desert animal, he needed warmth to survive. So for a whole week he lived under my hoodie. I even slept with him sitting on my stomach so he could get a little warmth from my skin. He was lethargic, but it was enough warmth to keep him alive until my boyfriend managed to contact me, and we went to his sister's house out of state to stay until the power back home was restored.
I used to take Smaug with me to school sometimes. My teachers and classmates all loved him. Once I even made a little catholic pope outfit for him out of poster board, yarn, and felt, and he acted as a visual co-host when I gave a report on Murder in the Cathedral. Looking back on it, this was probably in bad taste since my English teacher was devoutly Catholic, but she took it all in good humor.
A lot of people will say that reptiles are unfeeling, primitive animals that make crummy pets... but that's just not true. Smaug trusts me, he'll run to me of his own volition, he'll eat out of my hand, he'll sleep under my hoodie. He has a distinctive personality, and while I try not to play favorites among my pets, he definitely has a unique place in my heart. I just wanted to share his story with you guys.
Here are some pics of Smaug from the time he was a baby to present day.
His first day home:
First bath:
First tank:
He grew quickly:
Hanging out with a fellow classmate:
Grew out of his old tank into a much bigger one:
Here I am holding Smaug and a blue tongued skink rescue named Wrex:
And here are some really recent pics of adult Smaug:
love the colors 
i tried taking in my now passed away cprn snake and i got suspended lol, but i think it was cos of my teachers fear of snakes and the fact i put him on his desk xD hidden behind his textbook hahaha
I have a beardie, too, and am hoping that everyone will realize that beardies are really just cuddle-bugs at heart. 
