Be a dog sitter before you're a dog owner
Three things you need to know before adopting a new dog—even if you were a prior dog owner
I called my bank to handle an unauthorized charge. The interactive voice response told me it would be a 20-minute wait. I sprawled across my bed, annoyed that I would have to spend 20 minutes to handle a 60-second issue and grumbled about how much I have better things to do. On the other side of my bed, this face popped up. I smiled. How could I possibly stay mad about this phone call with this girl looking at me the whole time?
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn a percentage for each purchase with my referral links.
Once you get a dog, it’s difficult to imagine life without a dog. (I’m assuming the same can be said for all other pets, but I’ve only ever wanted dogs — minus a handful of goldfish who I did a horrendous job of taking care of and died within a couple of months.) I’d had two other family dogs (a Labrador Retriever/German Shepherd mix, and a German Shepherd purebred), but my Hound mix is the first dog that 100% belongs to me.
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I want to continue promoting cool products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. As of the first date of Black History Month 2025, each new post will ALWAYS include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site to verify that Amazon Black-owned logo.) I am (slowly) doing this with older, popular posts too. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
And it took me two years of being a dog walker to decide whether I wanted to take that level of responsibility on. Contrary to popular belief, even those who used to have a dog may not be cut out for having another one, especially those whose dogs have passed away and those who adopt dogs with a different state of mind.