After I graduated college, all I wanted to do is adopt a dog. I put it off for a while because I wasn’t living somewhere that would allow it and was still trying to save money, but I would always encourage my friends who were in a better spot than me to get a dog.
Two years ago, we moved into a pet-friendly apartment and adopted our doggo Kaya. I learned a lot and stopped encouraging people to get a dog on a whim, because it is hard work. Especially if you live in an apartment like me and need to walk your dog at least three times a day.
It also comes with a price. It would be nice to get a dog and then just live happily ever after, but we had health problems with Kaya and I would expect most shelter dogs to have a health problem or two along the way. Unfortunately, Kaya was diagnosed with heart worm about a year after we got her. If you’ve ever dealt with heart worm, you’ll know it’s a long and expensive process. Kaya wasn’t allowed to be physically active for almost 6 months, which is pretty devastating to a dog.
Luckily, she is all better now! And two years out, I would never say I regret adopting a dog. I’d go in debt for her, she is basically like my child. I know parents hate when people compare their fur-babies to real babies, but when all you have is a pet the love is pretty strong.
Kaya gets us outside more, is something for us to always bond over, and just brings so much joy to our life. Her Gotcha Day is April 12 and we’ll celebrate the way we did last year with a pup cup from Dairy Queen and lots of attention for the birthday girl.
Rosie Culture 
Can’t live without my two rescue dogs 🐕 🐶
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Dogs are the absolute best. And screw pink skin babies that scream and poop all the time–fur babies are so much better! 😉
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I agree lol 🙂
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Dogs are the most awesome of all creatures! I have a Shitz-tzu named Echo. She will be 10 next month. She’s my baby. Can’t imagine life without her.
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Awww happy early birthday to Echo 🙂
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Dogs are awesome. They are more human than humans.
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so true! 🙂
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More than ten years back we had adopted Skooby from the shelter. As you say it comes with a price but also a pleasure that is hard to describe. My wife who would run away from a dog before Skooby now is adopted full time by Skooby. Her elder sister, before visiting us from India, asked us to keep Skooby on a leash in a separate room while she was here, now asks about Skooby every time she calls. He is just wonderful.
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Kudos to you! I love dogs but I don’t like the work. I grew up with them all my life and converted to cat lady at the first opportunity. I was about 23 when I got my first cat and had my first dog since birth. 😅
Sorry to hear your dog was ill, but super happy for the recovery. As a heads-up though, shelter dogs are actually among the healthiest (not counting the ones who have been neglected or abused). Pedigree dogs tend to have the most health problems for the same reason “inbreds” do. When they keep breeding family members together to keep the line pure, it causes deformities. Just another good reason to support the #AdoptDontShop movement!
Happy dog parenting!
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Ah yes in that sense I could see why they are healthier! Almost every shelter dog I’ve encountered nowadays though has had heartworm which is a tough thing to treat.
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Heartworm is definitely an issue, because it’s easier to prevent rather than cure and no one’s preventing it while they’re on the streets or being neglected in a home. That part is definitely true.
I’m glad she’s all better now. She’s lucky to have found you guys. ☺️
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I’m glad to hear that Kaya recovered from heartworms! My dog Scooby was also diagnosed with heartworms a year after I adopted him. I don’t know what method you used, but we’ve been doing a slow-kill method for him and unfortunately he still has them after six months of treatment. He no longer has any baby heartworms though (so I don’t think mosquitos can carry the heartworm larvae from him to transmit it to other dogs anymore) and the vet said it looked like the tests were showing improvement!
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oh no 😦 Kaya’s case was mild, we did the 3 shots and the 6 months of no activity. She was clear of the baby worms after the treatment ended and a few months after that was given the all clear of the worms. I’m glad Scooby is improving though!
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That’s good that she’s clear! We decided not to do the shots and started off giving him antibiotics and then increasing his dosage of heartworm prevention, so I think it typically works slower than the shots. My dog is crazy hyper and while he’s still supposed to reduce his activity this way, I think it’s a little more lenient than the shots would be.
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Dogs are amazing! I know my two rescue dogs are awesome.
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Fur babies are just as special as real babies & I do believe we love them just as much. Kaya was so lucky you found her ♡ she’s a beauty, Rosie!!
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