[ SECRET POST #5743 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5743 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.



__________________________________________________



02.
[What We Do In The Shadows]


__________________________________________________



03.
[RPGs in general]


__________________________________________________



04.
[We are Lady Parts]


__________________________________________________



05.
[Usada Pekora]


__________________________________________________



06.
[Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]


__________________________________________________



07.
[Cheers]


__________________________________________________



08.
[The Princess Bride]


__________________________________________________



09.
[Overwatch]













Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 40 secrets from Secret Submission Post #822.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: Advice

[(Anonymous)]

A dog could be a stressful adjustment for the senior cat who doesn't like them. It's also a fact that shelters and rescues either don't really know or don't disclose the whole truth about whether or not their dogs are OK with cats. I don't mean to be a downer because it's possible that everything could work out! But...do you have a plan in place if it doesn't?

I speak from firsthand experience as someone who adopted a dog before the pandemic. I'd never had one before, and I don't have any other pets. I also work from home. Let me be honest - the first few months were very hard. I adopted a 1 year old lab mix who was very anxious and had separation issues. He didn't destroy stuff, but was super clingy in a way that I really struggled with. And by clingy, I don't mean affectionate or cuddly. This dog was scared and didn't trust anyone, so it wanted to be near me all the time but didn't necessarily want to be touched. He was also very bad on a leash and high energy, but walks were the only thing that he liked doing. He didn't know how to play and we couldn't burn off energy or bond with play time because of this.

I ended up physically exhausted because I'm not a high energy person on a good day. My arms and shoulders constantly ached from being yanked around on walks. I felt like I was very isolated and trapped in my house and I'm normally an introvert who hardly goes anywhere. My life suddenly revolved around a very needy animal who didn't seem to actually love me and I was extremely tired and frustrated. Happy dog adoption stories don't share stories like this, and I'm sure the majority of people don't have a rough time like I did, but I bet it's more common than people realize.

I guess what I'm saying is, think long and hard about how much time and energy you have to devote to a dog in order to give it a good life, with plenty of food, exercise, play time and regular vet care. Then think about what you would do if you end up with a difficult dog instead of a cuddly best friend. Be honest and realistic with yourself and the shelter about what kind of dog you want in terms of personality and energy levels. Don't adopt a dog just because it's cute.

As for me, things got better eventually, but it took a hell of a lot longer than the "three days, three weeks, three months" rule. My dog is still pretty anxious, I worked with a trainer on the leash issues, but it's not as easy or fun as I thought it'd be.