All of my dogs have come from the local shelter (except one who wandered into my yard and adopted me after no one claimed him). I always feel so sad for the ones I can’t adopt (two at any given time is all I can handle) because the one I do go home with is basically winning the lottery.

My second-to-last adoption in 2021 was a 6 1/2 year old long-term resident that had multiple stints in the pound (3 total; one original as a stray, one because she ran away and no one claimed her, and a third when she was adopted and returned). Turns out, unsurprisingly, she had pretty severe separation anxiety and would destroy absolutely everything she could reach if left alone.

The first two weeks with her were ruff, but after working with her, she’s been a dream. Had to accept that some things were just going to get destroyed (and minimize that best I could) while leaving her by herself for very short and slowly increasing periods of time to get her used to the fact that I would be coming back.

Dog tax: