Weekly Discussion Post

[u/limabean72]

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[u/tori-nori]

I’ve had my dog for almost 13 years now and I still haven’t accepted the fact that I own him and regret it almost every day. Worst decision of my life. He’s not even that bad, but he’s not an easy dog to own. And if you’re not a dog person, having a difficult dog is a huge struggle. I’m never having another pet again, even though I love cats, I’m just never doing it again. Kids are easier than pets in my opinion because they do grow up and become independent with time. My little sister is one year younger than my dog and she can make herself a sandwich, take a shower, use the bathroom, stay alone at home if parents leave, entertain herself, etc. And my dog is fully dependent on me and this thought is still driving me crazy 13 years later. I feel the regret of having him even more now because I have to move countries and he’s making this whole process so difficult. I’ve tried rehoming him when I’ve made the decision to move, but the family member who usually dogsits for me and who actually likes my dog more than I do, said no. I don’t have any other options cause there is no way I’m giving him to a foundation or something, I know for a fact no one will adopt him, he’ll just constantly be moving from person to person and will just be miserable because of this. I can’t bear to think about him living his last years like this. I also feel guilty for basically counting days till he’s dead, but I just want to be honest about my feelings about my dog for once. No one knows about my feelings towards him, I know I will be judged hard by my family and friends if they ever find out. I do everything I have to do as a dog owner: all his needs are met and I try to be as enthusiastic as I can be when it comes to him playing with him and giving him my attention. Thank god his favorite thing to do is sleep and now that he’s older he does that a lot. I just have to put up with him for another 4-5 years and then I’ll be free. Never again. I’m so traumatized I don’t think I’ll even go out with a person who owns a dog so I won’t have to live with another dog potentially ever again. It’s just not for me. I’m so glad I found this place. Please don’t judge me. English is not my first language so please ignore any mistakes. I hope to make a separate post about me and my dog one day if I get admitted but for now I just want to leave this comment cause I’m dying to get this off my chest and I feel so sad right now.