My dog

One of the main reasons I have to retire soon is my dog. He is, as any dog parent will tell you of their dog, the cutest in the world. I rescued him about nine years ago at the urging of two of my very dear friends, both of whom are major dog lovers. One of them even claims that she would much rather talk about her dogs than her kids. I tried to explain to my friends that I thought I should wait until I was retired to get a dog. I was pretty sure that I would take the responsibility of dog ownership very seriously, and at the time I had a job that required me to travel overnight at least once a month. My friends both assured me they would take care of it when I traveled, though when I did get my four-pound toy poodle, they both had "reasons" why it would not be a good idea for him to stay with them. They were "big" dog lovers. It did not occur to them that I would get a little dog. Luckily, by the time I actually I got him, I had a housemate who wasn't afraid of little dogs, so it wasn't a problem. And then I got a job that didn't require travel.

But, I also hate, as I knew I would, that I have to leave him all day while I am at work. (I like to think it is because I am concerned about him being lonely, rather than that I am jealous of him not having to go to work while I do!) Plus, we are both getting older, and it makes me sad to think that he won't always be here with me. So, I want to be able to enjoy him as much as possible while I can. While he is definitely not neglected, when I get home from work, I'm too tired, and have too many daily maintenance tasks to give him the attention I would like to, or that he would love to get. I need to retire for him.