The NSVs of Dog Parenting

Unless you live under a rock, you've probably heard that Anthony and I have a new addition: a 12-year-old rescue Shih Tzu named Maddie. She is quickly becoming the light of our lives and brings us joy on a daily basis.

My parents and I lived with our family dog, Fagin, from the time he was two months old until he passed away from cancer at age 16. Since Fagin passed away, I've truly missed having a dog. For a variety of reasons, the time wasn't right... and then the opportunity to adopt Maddie arrived and I knew that the time was finally right.

However, what I didn't realize until we'd been living with Maddie for a few days was that I thought I knew why dog parenting wasn't meant to be for us until now. There certainly are obvious reasons, but a less obvious answer is that a year ago, I wouldn't have been able to keep up with Maddie. I couldn't have been the best dog mom that I need to be for her.

Maddie comes to work with me daily. That means, picking her up and getting her into her carrier every morning, and carrying her in said carrier to and from the car at least twice a day. While she's a small dog at 14 pounds, carrying 14 pounds over your shoulder multiple times a day is not for the weak. Not to mention, I don't only carry Maddie in her carrier. She is afraid of stairs, and I have to carry her up and down a small flight of stairs at the office at least once a day. I used to get winded going up those same stairs without carrying a 14-pound dog at the same time! Now, it's second nature with her.

Aside from carrying Maddie, there is the business of walking her. Anthony and I don't have a fenced-in yard where we live, and there is no fenced-in yard at the office. So, there is no "letting her out" -- there is only walking her. While we don't take many steps as she's not exactly active at her age, Maddie does need to be walked at least every four to six hours. A year ago, I wouldn't have even been able to bend over to scoop her poop without getting winded -- forget about walking her out in the driveway or the parking lot at the office more than once a day. I now have enough stamina to be on my feet with Maddie and work out every day. Anthony and I do live at the end of a long driveway, and a year ago, it was painful just to walk one-way to the end of said driveway. Now, I'm out there with Maddie on the daily.

Additionally, much of Maddie's care requires bending and squatting. If you've never been morbidly obese, bending over on a daily basis isn't something that you consciously think about. For me, I used to do everything in my power to avoid bending over because it was just too difficult. I now have to bend over or squat to refill Maddie's food and water bowls, to put her in her bed at night, and of course, the aforementioned scooping of the poop. I'm happy to report that I perform those tasks without having to think about how I'm going to complete them.

As I stated previously, Maddie is not the most active dog, so I'm not keeping up with "zoomies." But that's not to say that dog parenting isn't exhausting. If it's exhausting now, I can't even imagine how exhausted I would have been a little more than a year ago, carrying 69 additional pounds and Maddie.

Now that I'm becoming the healthiest version of myself, I know that I am the best dog mom to Maddie that I can possibly be. I don't have physical limitations that prohibit me from walking, carrying, and bending as much as I need to. I have more energy and more stamina thanks to my daily workouts.

Being able to care for Maddie without worry is one of my favorite NSVs to date. The timing, truly, was perfect.