“Not every adoption is perfect. If your experience doesn\u2019t match the \u201clove at first sight\u201d or \u201cthey fit seamlessly into my life\u201d stories we often see, you\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I fostered my boy for six months, so I knew his struggles. I didn\u2019t keep him because I was overwhelmed with love\u2014I kept him because no one else wanted him, and going back to the shelter wasn\u2019t a good option. He needed a quiet home like mine, so he stayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first, I resented him (yikes\u2014that\u2019s hard to admit \u2018out loud\u2019). My already small, post-COVID life shrank further with a reactive dog who struggled with dogs, cats, wildlife, strangers, kids, blowing leaves for a bit, car rides, and vet visits. On top of that, he has food allergies, IBD, seasonal allergies, separation anxiety, some obsessive behaviors, and general life anxiety. I questioned my ability to help him often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But eventually, something changed\u2014more in me than him at first. I committed to learning about positive reinforcement and cooperative care and became obsessed with enrichment. I connected with a community of people who offered their experience, support, and compassion. We \u201cbuddy walked\u201d with friends, took a few group classes, muzzle trained, and worked through his (and my) big feelings with patience. We found meds that eased his mind and food options that helped his tummy. I chose to see beyond his challenging behaviors\u2014to the nervous boy who didn\u2019t feel well, physically or mentally. I understood he wasn\u2019t trying to be difficult; he was struggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our love wasn\u2019t instant or shiny. It was slow and gritty\u2014full of tears and frustrations. And I was afraid to bond intensely with a dog again, knowing how much loss hurts. But my boy needed deep love. So did I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve been together almost four years now. His issues aren\u2019t gone, but we\u2019re much better at navigating them. Loving a hard dog is a lot. It\u2019s learning nuances in body language, managing triggers, and meeting mental, physical, and emotional needs. It\u2019s building trust and confidence, handling complex emotions, and celebrating tiny victories. It\u2019s also giving yourself grace\u2014for having off days, making mistakes, and feeling like a failure\u2014just like you do with your dog. And then starting again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t have a perfect adoption story. I don\u2019t have an easy dog. But I do have an incredible bond with the one who needed me most. And while he may not be the dog I imagined having, he\u2019s exactly the boy I was meant to love.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Michaela<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(33\/150)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
33\/150 | April 11<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":69023,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-150-stories"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69298"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69301,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69298\/revisions\/69301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nehumanesociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}