In honor of National Dog Day (yes it’s a thing – just like National Donut Day!) I’m talking about the benefits of our furbabies. Mainly dogs, but the benefits I am mentioning can also be for cats, birds, hamsters, etc.
When Chase and I first got married we really wanted a dog. We wanted a companion and someone to love on and love us in return. At that time we were suffering with some depression, not infertility. We looked through the classifieds and found a cute black/brown chorkie. Little did we know how much time and effort it took to take care of this puppy. He also ended up being a puggle (which are known for high energy), not a chorkie.
When it started taking us longer to get pregnant, Hurley was there for us and loved on us. It was at this point that we took more time and effort in making sure he received more exercise and attention. We may have been bad pet parents for a time. We found that during our struggle, Hurley helped us feel like we were needed and that we were “parents” to this dog.
During our infertility journey he was our baby. We took him on adventures with us.
We took photos of our dogs doing cute things, and shared those pictures (similar to how others share photos of their kids). One year we even took “first day of school” photos and shared them with friends and family. Most got a kick out of it, and it was fun being like our friends with kids.
With each trial we go through (infertility mainly), dogs and other furbabies, can help us cope.
I’ve come up with some benefits to having furbabies:
- Having them need us; to feed, love, and tend to them.
- Someone to love us unconditionally regardless of our flaws.
- The animal loving, cuddling and caring for us when we’ve had a bad day.
- It helps us to get out and to be physically active.
- Spending time thinking of places to take our dogs to (camping, dog parks, hiking, etc).
- Taking care of someone else helps us to forget our own worries.
- Buying treats, toys and clothes for our dogs, basically spoiling them because we don’t have a baby to spoil.
Do you have any furbabies? If so, what are some things you love to do with your furbabies?
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