As you probably know if you've read some of my posts, my only companion during the day is my beloved German Shepherd. She means the world to me and I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have her by my side.
Working from home has many perks but one thing I truly miss is having company during the day. As a remote worker ever since the pandemic hit, and for the first year of it, I was living 100% alone. Picture this:
My life before her
I had just moved to one of the biggest cities in the Americas to work in my first corporate job in a tech start-up company. My days were great, I liked the people I was working with, I was making enough money to support myself and go out, I had just got my first apartment and life was looking promising.
Then March 2020 happened and I was stuck in my studio apartment for the rest of the year. I spent many days completely alone, especially at the start and I cannot begin to tell you the toll it slowly had on me.
As people started to feel more comfortable going out every so often, I got to meet some of my work buddies I had been working with for 1 year at this point.
In January 2021, I moved in with my partner and in June we got our German Shepherd puppy. He quickly went back to his in-person work and I remained at home, taking care of her and working during the day. In December 2021, he was transferred to work elsewhere I decided to stay with the puppy in the big city.
Having a dog while working from home:
The first stage
Raising her alone was one the hardest things I ever did and if you've done the same, properly that is, you'll know what I'm talking about.
I hired a professional dog trainer who I worked with for 6 months, took her to the vet every time something was off, got her spayed and cared for her post-op, obedience-trained her every day, and made a point to walk her at least twice a day. Keep in mind that she grew to weigh in at 42kg nowadays and I'm a pretty small woman. I also tried as much as I could to bring her with me every time I traveled to see my family.
During her teen phase, she became extremely reactive toward other dogs and protective of me. For the briefest moment when I worked hybrid, I used to leave her at a doggy daycare I trusted to help her socialize again. I honestly felt like a single mom and don't know how other women do it. You guys rock.
The second stage:
Fast forward to now: she is 2, very well-trained and well-behaved, a little bit leash-reactive still, but you can't win them all, right? She greets and plays with every single person who comes to my house or wants to pet her in the streets. I, now, can walk her 3 to 4 times a day and we keep each other company.
And I cannot begin to tell you how essential she has become in my life. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't take breaks during the day, wouldn't drink as much water, or eat at the right times. Now, this is what having a dog while working from home has been like for us:
We started to synchronize a lot and she drinks water when I do, eats when she sees me eating (or when I give her freshly baked chicken), and asks me to go out when she needs to go to the bathroom.
I get to sunbathe while walking her, meet the neighbors, and get to know our neighborhood very well. As someone with 0 sense of direction, I appreciate that hahaha
She naps by my side every afternoon while I'm working and stays with me in bed until I'm ready to get up. We have frequent 5-minute snuggle sections when I feel like pausing work for a bit.
The amount of love she gives is indescribable and I can only give it back.
She doesn't replace other people's company, let's make that very clear. But I slowly became used to being alone. I have my routines, talk online to my work peers, and have my house all to myself. And I have her.
I guess I wanted to highlight the importance of these cute beings in our lives and bring attention to what they can give us.
So yeah, I think this is an ode to her. I hope it resonates with you if you have a pet and hope it can make you as happy as she makes me.
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