I Miss My Dog

You might have read the title and got concerned, but I assure you my dog is just fine. At this moment she’s probably indulging in another nap or watching passersby through the window.

One of the things I was most worried about when moving from my home in Northwestern BC to Victoria was leaving my dog. She had just had her eleventh birthday, and I knew she was in good health, but I’m always worried about her because she’s not exactly the most graceful creature, and often seems to forget that she’s not a puppy anymore. Being someone who grew up in a family that treated dogs like members of the family, leaving her for school was going to be hard.

As I was packing stuff up to get ready to move into my dorm, she began to give me concerned looks, lying beside my suitcase and following me around the house more than usual. This was going to be hard for both of us. Depending on how my final exam schedule worked out and if I could come home for Thanksgiving or reading break it could end up being four months until I got to see her again.

Victoria is a very dog-friendly city, which helped it feel like home fast. Once Pet Café started up in the first few weeks I would always go after class to visit the dogs and chat with some of the people there. While both the dogs and people there were super friendly, I left earlier than usual one day because I just felt sad and wasn’t sure why. While on the phone with my mom I realized why.

Pet Cafe definitely makes things a little easier. Photo by Erin, MyUVic Life

I missed my dog. I missed having dog hair on my clothes and a loyal companion to follow me around the house. Even her refusal, as you can tell by this photo, to pose for any camera.

While I was able to call any of my family members, it’s much harder to get my rambunctious dog to listen to a phone call. Unfortunately, the handful of times she could hear my voice while I was video calling my mom she got confused and thought I was coming into the house or was in another room. Clearly my initial plan of using Skype or similar apps to see her wasn’t going to work.

I’m excited to be going home. Nothing really beats the feeling of going through a walk in the snow or sitting on the living room floor with your dog.