Let's just get this out of the way right now, I am a crazy person, I am a dog-mom. You can continue to read without judgement or judge me all you like, I am who I am, and that is a crazy dog lady.
We got our
sweet Cavalier 4 years ago on August 3 and have been chuckling at her stubborn ways since. When she was teeny tiny, every evening at 7 on the dot she turned into
the terrorist. We called her that because she would go from being a super sweet, cuddly, floppy puppy into this miniature terrorist that would snarl and rip around our living room, nipping at us, pulling on our clothes, and refusing to listen to a word we shouted at her.
We got her when I was working from home. Cavaliers are notorious velcro dogs, where you are, they are. When we researched the breed it was said to be best suited to "the elderly, stay at home moms, or those that worked from home". Perfect! I was working my dream job and most office days were from home.
Then I
returned to teaching, and the guilt came with it. I was so worried how she would do with me being gone for 7-8 hours a day. By this time she was
finally house trained (if we go anywhere that has a basement I still have to block it from her, she thinks that basements = bathrooms) so I didn't have to worry about that (we put a semi-permanent basement blocker in place - an empty box that scared her by falling one time, it's barely taller than her but the fright has been disincentive enough to work!). But still, I wondered if she would be ok.
She's fine and she sleeps all day, confirmed by a sitter-cam the hubster bought to keep an eye on her. Yes, I told you we are crazy.
All of that guilt builds up over the school year and I wanted to find a way to shower her with love and time and affection. Except she's gotten accustomed to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep during the day. She can't be bothered with me. This only exacerbated the guilt I was feeling. Not only was my perception that my dog was lonely, in my head she was also depressed and aging rapidly - I thought I saw a white hair near her eye and reached out on insta to find out when others' Cavaliers started going white. She is not sick, depressed, or prematurely aging, she's just in a routine.
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| had to coax her out of bed (see, sleeps ALL day) |
If you want to know what your routine is, get a dog and they will tell you. She knows exactly when it is 5 o'clock supper time. She knows when it is greenie time (9pm). She knows when it is Thursday and we are going over to a friend's house. She knows when it is Friday (she gets to sleep in the big bed with us). She knows if we are brushing our teeth before we leave the house that she is staying back. Dogs are smart and live by routine, the guilt was trying to shove that out. She's just used to sleeping alllllllll day.
When Tess from
Wagadō asked if anyone had a blog I jumped at the chance. I had to squash the guilt somehow and I needed an assignment. She checked out my site and agreed to send us a bag of Wagadō in exchange for this post.
I was immediately excited and conflicted.
How do I make that fit into a blog wherein I talk mostly about life and the silly lessons is teaches me through my experiences? It clicked into place.
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| taste testing |
I am a millennial and this is what we do. We all have side-hustles, we all have hobbies and interests that we are working hard toward making our main-hustle. We've all wanted to make the leap at some point and make money doing what we love. And why not? The dog industry was an 86 billion dollar industry this last year, that's up 60 billion from the year before. And if a lovely person that I met via instagram wants to take a bite out of that 86 billion dollars I'm going to help and shill out my adorable dog for her!
Millennial consumers make relationships the priority. We make earth-friendly shopping decisions, we want the product that benefits the consumer and the business. We want eco-systems. Even Tess, from Wagadō, changed the design of her bag to reduce the waste that came from her old design (as I wrote that I realized that I could put the cooked treats back into the lovely bag they came deconstructed in). We are a thoughtful and conscientious generation that wants to see things change for better.
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| awake and ready to eat now |
I remember being told when I was young that the jobs of the future hadn't been invented yet. Who knew that my friends would make a killing having their own vlog site, home baking, insta-biz, or high-end dog treats? I was a bit skeptical about whether I would go for this, but seeing the vision that Tess has, has me sold. Healthier treats for your beloved fur babies, power packed with nutrients, that also gives to animal causes once a month - that makes my little millennial heart sing.
(For the record I have yet to spell millennial right on the first try - stupid double letter words)
That's all.
Then I returned to teaching, and the guilt came with it. I was so worried how she would do with me being gone for 7-8 hours a day. By this time she was finally house trained (if we go anywhere that has a basement I still have to block it from her, she thinks that basements = bathrooms) so I didn't have to worry about that (we put a semi-permanent basement blocker in place - an empty box that scared her by falling one time, it's barely taller than her but the fright has been disincentive enough to work!). But still, I wondered if she would be ok.
All of that guilt builds up over the school year and I wanted to find a way to shower her with love and time and affection. Except she's gotten accustomed to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep during the day. She can't be bothered with me. This only exacerbated the guilt I was feeling. Not only was my perception that my dog was lonely, in my head she was also depressed and aging rapidly - I thought I saw a white hair near her eye and reached out on insta to find out when others' Cavaliers started going white. She is not sick, depressed, or prematurely aging, she's just in a routine.
We got her when I was working from home. Cavaliers are notorious velcro dogs, where you are, they are. When we researched the breed it was said to be best suited to "the elderly, stay at home moms, or those that worked from home". Perfect! I was working my dream job and most office days were from home.
She's fine and she sleeps all day, confirmed by a sitter-cam the hubster bought to keep an eye on her. Yes, I told you we are crazy.
When Tess from Wagadō asked if anyone had a blog I jumped at the chance. I had to squash the guilt somehow and I needed an assignment. She checked out my site and agreed to send us a bag of Wagadō in exchange for this post.
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