new dog
Heather and I adopted a 4 month old German Shepherd Lab mix. He's neutered, microchipped, up to date with his shots, and he's crate trained and house broken. And he's big. The people we adopted him from are an older couple who took in a pregnant stray. There were 9 total in the litter and they got them all adopted out. "Bo", as he was named, ended up coming back to them because the people who adopted him had an in-law move in with them that was allergic. Anyways, we met "Bo" and the couple at their house in the Heights. After spending some time with him and them we decided we'd take a chance on him. When it was time to take "Bo", the woman and her son (who looked older than me) were BALLING THEIR EYES OUT. It was so weird and so uncomfortable. We even asked them to keep him, but being an older couple they don't have the energy or the strength to keep up with a dog like "Bo", plus, they are retired and want to travel and "Bo" wouldn't make a good travel dog.
Now I am riddled with fear and anxiety. I've never been responsible for a dog before. I'm terrified that something will happen to him, like he'll develop an insanely expensive medical condition that I can't afford or worse, he'll just be unhappy. I really don't want to be bad at this. The previous owner's parting episode compounded by the fact that I barely slept last night and that I am STILL living at my parents' house (with their elderly dachshund who does NOT want to play with Chef. We renamed him as Chef. Working on that.) has me feeling like a nervous maniac. I can't stop worrying. This is such a big lifestyle change for me. Buying a house out in the suburbs is already a lifestyle change that I am totally into and ready for is one thing, but being responsible for the health and happiness of this dog now has to trump everything else. Life was so much easier when I only had me to worry about. And Heather, but she's pretty good at taking care of herself, I don't really have to worry about her. I'm really glad that Heather grew up with these kinds of dogs. Not to be melodramatic, but I don't think I could do this alone. I think I'll feel a lot better about this once I am in my own house and don't have to worry about Pumpkin (the aforementioned dachshund). I plan on taking Chef to work with me so he's not by himself in his crate all day. I'm hoping I can drop him off at work, go to the gym, then come back to work and be able to do my job and keep him happy and out of trouble all at the same time. I'm just like, "what the hell have I gotten myself into?" But I like the dude. He's a really great dog. I just have to keep telling myself that the current living situation is only temporary, and he's still just a puppy.
Now I am riddled with fear and anxiety. I've never been responsible for a dog before. I'm terrified that something will happen to him, like he'll develop an insanely expensive medical condition that I can't afford or worse, he'll just be unhappy. I really don't want to be bad at this. The previous owner's parting episode compounded by the fact that I barely slept last night and that I am STILL living at my parents' house (with their elderly dachshund who does NOT want to play with Chef. We renamed him as Chef. Working on that.) has me feeling like a nervous maniac. I can't stop worrying. This is such a big lifestyle change for me. Buying a house out in the suburbs is already a lifestyle change that I am totally into and ready for is one thing, but being responsible for the health and happiness of this dog now has to trump everything else. Life was so much easier when I only had me to worry about. And Heather, but she's pretty good at taking care of herself, I don't really have to worry about her. I'm really glad that Heather grew up with these kinds of dogs. Not to be melodramatic, but I don't think I could do this alone. I think I'll feel a lot better about this once I am in my own house and don't have to worry about Pumpkin (the aforementioned dachshund). I plan on taking Chef to work with me so he's not by himself in his crate all day. I'm hoping I can drop him off at work, go to the gym, then come back to work and be able to do my job and keep him happy and out of trouble all at the same time. I'm just like, "what the hell have I gotten myself into?" But I like the dude. He's a really great dog. I just have to keep telling myself that the current living situation is only temporary, and he's still just a puppy.