Contemplating moving back home to Perth. I'm severely homesick and constantly miss my doggie friend.
My parents brought this pup home for my brother's birthday because he had been begging for ages. He promised to take care of her (clean, train, walks, etc). I really disliked dogs at the time (only liked cats and birds at the time).
Since she was a puppy, she had to learn to sleep outside on her own (my parents don't like pets in the house), so we would leave her outside at night. She would whimper literally ALL night.
I have always struggled with insomnia, worsened by my tinnitus so it was impossible to sleep while she was whimpering outside. So I used to sneak her into my bedroom to shut her up and put her back outside before my parents woke up. There were heaps of toileting accidents I had to clean up and hide as well.
My brother was y0ung at the time and he eventually fell through on his promises. He stopped taking her out for walks, didn't play with her, and with how busy my parents were, I knew if I didn't step up, she would be living a life of misery - confined to the backyard and understimulated.
I barely talked to my grandparents in my life so I barely knew them as people. But as they were getting old, I tried to see them whenever possible because I pitied their loneliness and isolation. I would not say I enjoyed hanging out with them, but I felt happy knowing that they didn't feel lonely or like a burden for having to be taken care of, in their final days.
It's a similar relationship I had with my doggie friend. I wouldn't say our relationship was out of love, but rather out of pity. I started trying to incorporate her into my life when my brother no longer cared, and my parents were too busy to notice. No dog deserves to be understimulated and bored with living. What is a life without living? So I started incorporating her into my life out of pity. She joined me on bike rides & walks, we sat on the kitchen floor together at midnight for late-night snacks, etc.
I'm not sure what flicked, but I really started to love her as my own baby. Instead of incorporating her into my lifestyle, I started changing my lifestyle for her. I took her on different walking & biking paths so she could see new things. I hated mornings but started waking up early to tire her out so she would be asleep (so not bored) while I was away at school. We ate breakfast & dinner together on the patio outside. I snuck her foods from the fridge like cheeses, hams, and meats (all in moderation) at midnight, so she could experience the more flavorsome things in life.
So I don't think I ever grew to love my grandparents although that's debatable - because why did I even care so much about their mental health and happiness? For my doggie at least, she just grew on me and one day she just felt like the baby I've loved forever.
Now she's my absolute pride and joy. We do EVERYTHING together. Sleep, eat, exercise, and everything in between. I feel physical pain as I'm writing about her, knowing that eventually, I will have to leave again. Btw she's snoring on me while I'm typing this xd.
