dogs…and the great housing problem.
COVID (and the inflation aftermath) has been life altering for so many.
Us included.
After exhausting all options to stay afloat during this time, the last and final one was to sell our beloved little home of the last 12 years. It went under contract after 5 days on the market.
I've been looking for a safe, comfortable space for the dogs and I to land after this is all said and done for weeks now.... and it's proving to be quite difficult.
1. Rental pricing is exorbitant right now. Painfully, painfully high...and this is all over the country.
2. It's proving to be exceptionally difficult to find a (comfortable, tasteful) home that will accept 4 dogs.
3. I am absolutely unwilling to "give up" my dogs. When I committed to and took responsibility for them, I did so for life. For better and for worse. They're family. We'll live out of the Jeep and just make it work if that's what we have to do. Not everyone will understand or get this, but those who do.... do.
In speaking with multiple properties, I've found that they're asking the WRONG QUESTIONS in regards to the dogs. They're asking what the dogs' size, breed, and weight they are, as well as how many. NOT questions about their character, how well-behaved they are, if they've had any training and conditioning, or how responsible and consistent of an "owner" I am. There are countless dogs being discarded by their humans citing "housing issues", and there's absolutely a better way to ensure the preservation of property than placing all these ridiculous, non-behavior related restrictions on folks (I have a number of ideas on how to do so).
There's a way to make "pet friendly" properties more "friendly", as well as give property owners more peace of mind other than what they've currently got in place.
Dogs are a part of our lives.T
hey have been for thousands of years.
Things. Have. To. Change.
We've got to redefine what "pet friendly" means and change our ways. Doing so would put a significant dent in the number of dogs ending up in the shelter system...most of who will never walk out or live to see their next birthday.
As for us, we'll keep searching... and time is ticking. We have to be out of our beloved little home by Nov. 1st.
We will miss our neighbors and community.
The Mini Pack Leaders and their families (although they're not so "mini" anymore).
Our favorite hiking trails and secret "freedom" spots.I'm sure I'll be chronicling things as we go.
The most important thing for me to do right now is to do my best to stay out of fear, anxiety, doubt, and worry. Admittedly, this is not the easiest thing to do, and I make conscious efforts every single day to try and re-focus, destress, and reframe. Some days I'm successful, some days I fail. But I'm hyper-aware of how my emotional state affects my dogs, so I've got to do my damnedest to be the "eye of the storm" for them.
Change isn't easy.
Especially when there's so much uncertainty involved.
No sense of safety or security.
The kind of life we lived for so long has become a memory, and it's something I deeply miss.
But my commitment to and responsibility for my dogs is helping me to keep myself in check and, as a dear friend put it, take this "one pack walk at a time."
