i recently did some dogsitting for someone and it was a good reminder that, while dogs are cute/fun/lovable, they’re also an assload of work. for this dog, an 8-month-old yellow lab mix named augie, he was particularly high maintenance.
here’s augie when he was just a baby.
and here he is now.
although he’s pretty much full size now, because he’s only 8 months old, he’s basically still a puppy. as such, augie has boundless energy which required taking him to a park and playing catch with him for a solid 30-45 minutes every day in order to not only give him exercise, but also to try and tire him out. this doesn’t include the walk around the block in the morning, or the walk around the block before bed. add in a meal in the morning, a meal at night, snacks in between, cleaning up after him, his extreme curiosity with anything and everything, his desire to chew anything and everything, and the fact that he gets pretty lonely if left by himself for long periods of time, and you quickly realize that owning a dog is more or less a full-time job in itself.
anyway, i’d still love to have a dog of my own one day down the road. in fact, taking care of augie for a few days reminded me of an old bill simmons article he wrote about his dog that had recently passed away. even though i love all of bill simmons’ sports columns, this one about his pup is one of my all-time favorite simmons pieces. more than anything, it’s a reminder that in spite of all the time and work, all the walks and runs, all the meals, and all the poop, the love you have for your dog wins out in the end.
