Dogged Decision

I’ve decided to retire from dog sitting.

It’s a side job I’ve been doing for years—decades, really. I still love dogs. I still love dog sitting. Something, however, has changed. Maybe I want to concentrate more on writing; I mean I can still do that when I am at someone else’s house taking care of my canine buddies. Maybe I just get tired of living at someone else’s house for weeks at time; I mean I love staying at my house. Maybe it’s a little of the “been there, done that” feeling; I mean, like I said, I’ve been doing it for decades.

So much I’m going to miss about it. Of course, I’ll miss the babies: the beautiful Russian Wolf Hound who chomps her teeth together when she wants attention; the French Bulldog who gets into bed with me and snores; the Labs who jump up and down because they’re so excited to see me walk into the door. Oh, and don’t forget the two Great Danes. It was like two small horses running around the house. I’ll miss all the dogs, because, as we all know, dogs love us unconditionally and keep us company, even if I’m only going to stay for a few days.

I’ll miss staying in other people’s houses. I’ve had an opportunity to live in some wonderful areas of Louisville, the Derby City. I’ve lived in old and new houses. Big and small apartments. Downtown and out in the boonies on the edge of Jefferson County. I pack up and drag my clothes, toiletries and computer to live in someone else’s home. And if it’s for weeks, I almost start to think of their place as mine.

The only thing I didn’t like about dog sitting was leaving. I would miss my mutt nephews and nieces-—Primrose, Andre, Bella, Minnie, Graeme, Winston, Killian, Buddy, Addie and all the rest—once the dog sitting was over and I went home.

I’m not sure exactly why now is the time to move on from my dog sitting career. It supplied me with extra cash when I was making plenty of money and also when I was in between jobs. It’s one of those things where I just know it’s time to move on. Doesn’t everyone experience a decision like that at least once in their life?

It never was about the money.

Photo by Lum3n.com from Pexels