Anxious. Excited. Worried.
The first few days, I didn’t sleep much.
Each time I closed my eyes, I forgot for a moment.
Then I’d wake and remember
I’m a dog parent now.
And that remembering would fill me up with something I hadn’t felt in a long while
Not fear.
But a kind of small purpose, like lighting a single candle in a long, dim hallway.
She would leap onto me like she’d known me before I knew myself.
Not as a pet.
But as a presence.
Taking over the room like a spirit meant to remind me I was still alive.
Still here.
Still capable of being responsible for something other than myself.
She got me out of the house.
She wanted to be near the trees.
The wind.
The puddles.
The birds we both watched with quiet eyes.
It wasn’t just a walk.
It was her way of saying,
There’s something on this earth that still wants you.
In the darker hours
The ones where thought becomes shadow
She’d sit beside me.
Not barking.
Not moving.
Just being.
She didn’t come to fix the pain.
She came to witness it.
And in that witnessing,
I found a comfort that no human sermon could have offered.
To future dog parents, I say:
It depends.
Not every journey with a dog starts the same.
Mine began in the echoes of childhood dreams
Always wanting one, always waiting.
It became more real when life reminded me that parenthood, for me,
would take a different path.
So I chose this path with intention.
A dog, not a substitute.
But as a companion, teacher, healer, guardian.
Dogs teach children more than obedience.
They teach honor.
They teach quiet responsibilities
Poop bags.
Feeding schedules.
Trips to the vet.
Gentle corrections.
Soft warnings.
And above all how to care for a soul who can’t speak our language… but feels everything.
If you rescue a dog,
know that they may carry ghosts of old cages
fears and flinches that have no name.
Be patient.
Love them through it.
Hold them like you wish someone held you in your hardest hour.
Some dogs will follow you around the house like shadows.
Others will need space.
Some won’t do well alone.
Some will thrive when left in the safety of a window and a blanket.
There’s no single way to be a dog parent.
But if you listen close
Not with your ears, but with your stillness
They’ll show you exactly who they are…
And maybe, just maybe, show you who you are too.