* Hey everyone! This is an old Facebook post that many people seemed to relate to so I decided to post it here on my blog so that everyone could benefit from reading it.*

 

Hey all! I have a little thought/encouragement for you guys today. Lately I have come across quite a few people struggling with the same problem. Many of these people have currently lost a beloved family pet and then jumped straight into getting another dog. The problem is the new dog that they brought in is not the dog that they lost and they are severely disappointed. For the most part they didn’t give themselves enough time to grieve the loss of the previous dog and probably thought that getting a new dog would help them cope better during the process and heal the pain. The problem is they didn’t expect the new dog to be so different from the dog they lost. The expectation to a point is that this dog would be in some form a continuation of the other in terms of the way the dog relates to them. For example when my dog passes (Lord willing that’s a LONG time from now) I would want to get a dog just like her. The problem is there is no dog just like her. She is unique and that is what makes her so special to me. I also know this from previous experience in that Roxy is nothing like any of the dogs I have had in the past.  I have to be fair when I get a new dog and understand that this is not another chapter in the book of Roxy. (By the way, all the books before Roxy were unique and amazing.) It’s a whole new book. A new dog comes with a fresh slate. All new problems, challenges, victories, and memories. A whole new relationship!  We will always remember the ones we’ve lost. They are dear to our hearts and they will always be in our happy memories but to put the expectation on our new dogs to be an extension of another it’s not only unfair to the dog but we could also end up resenting the dog that we bring into our home. We had to invest a lot of work into cultivating our relationships with our dogs. With each new dog, we get to do it again and get to know another personality. Love each one for their individuality and they will return the favor.