A Tough Time.

2022 was a tough year for so many people. Please feel free to share your tough story in the comments. You are not alone. Your story is important.

For Miles and I, housing was the biggest challenge. After constant stress over housing all year and moving several times, I planned a big move for us in December. My dad and I did the move ourselves in two days, which we both quickly regretted. Even though the experience was awful, it yielded one of my best memories of last year. After the move wrapped at around 5am, Miles and I were on one floor mattress, and my dad was on another. The backs of our heads were about a foot apart. Miles checked in on my dad, then me, and repeat, meanwhile my dad and I chatted deliriously in the darkness until we all fell asleep. The way my dad and I got through that hard time together over a several day period meant so much to me. The next morning a major snowstorm hit. Internet installation was delayed, I couldn’t seem to add data to my phone, and of course the usual solution, to go to a coffee shop, wasn’t available given the storm.

Miles and I sat on our mattress together on the floor and stared at the mountains of boxes. We felt really out of place. The heat in the place wasn’t working, and a neighbor’s cigarette smoke wafted through the icy kitchen fan vent. Nearly a week in, it felt wrong to unpack, but I gave in and did. I woke up the next morning fully unpacked. I was talking on the phone with my mom, and all of the sudden I exclaimed “There’s something in the walls!” My mom said “its probably just the old pipes.” For some reason now whenever I think of that moment all I can think of is this Twilight Zone episode… And “there’s something in the walls!” has become an inside joke with several of my friends…

A split second later, the ceilings burst and water dumped into the small space from burst pipes above. Being me (if you know me, you know me!) I had not one but three Home Depot buckets handy, which I immediately flew into rotation, constantly dumping into the bathtub. The landlord had an emergency plumber on site within an hour to turn off the water, but the flooding and surprise new leaks continued into the night. The whole while the smoke detector and appliances alarmed simultaneously for hours, until they began to slowly whine, and eventually let out their last calls before dying off. I worked hard to empty buckets and completely re-pack. Late that night I called a taxi to transport Miles and I and some of my most precious belongings to a hotel. Instead of auto-booking I called an operator to explain the situation, and somehow they didn’t tell the taxi driver I’d be loading 3 shopping-sized bags of delicate personal belongings and that I’d be bringing Miles. The taxi driver screamed at me as I slid on the ice loading my bags with Miles in tow. He told me he was not a dog-friendly taxi. As per usual when this happens, and always during a crisis, I asked the taxi if he’d like me to vacate, and instead he started driving, continuing to yell at me. Every time I always say I don’t know what more I can do but that I will give a good tip. They never believe me about the tip until I do, and then they seem very embarrassed. I can only imagine their behavior has to do with how they’ve been treated before, so I am unsure whether to be upset about them, or the customers who surely have been terrible to them many times before. Regardless, all I know is it is always very upsetting (the last time was after a particularly disastrous travel day for Miles and I at agility Nationals last August).

The next day was Christmas Eve, and securing movers and a storage unit was very challenging. Two young guys through a moving company agreed to take the job, for which I will forever be grateful. They took the job even though it cut into their Christmas Eve family party.

As I sit in an Airbnb and write this (right now the unit next door is having a kitchen fire, but Miles seems more concerned about the stink of the copious amounts of pet hair in our unit), the biggest reflection I have is actually in relation to Miles. It is more of a love letter, really.

Miles is what I would classify as extremely high needs type of dog. His type is so specific and his needs are so different that he not only changed my life, he is the reason my entire career path changed. He is the reason so many dogs like him have gotten help. He has saved so many lives.

Few dogs will amuse and exercise themselves, or keep themselves company. The dogs we bred for tough jobs are often tormented the most by silence and stillness. In our normal life, Miles’ vibrant active intelligent needs are met, which is a lot of work for both of us. We walk/hike an absolute minimum of 5 miles every single day (the hard-line only exception is if one of us is ill), Miles and I work professionally together, we train and compete in agility, and he gets all sorts of other miscellaneous attention such as our own training, canine conditioning programs, stretches, and of course, our affectionate 24/7 life together.

During this recent crisis, I asked the most I’ve ever asked of Miles. It was very difficult for me to bypass the realization that what to me is the most I could possibly ask of Miles is what many pet people ask for, beg for, dream of, hope for, or even expect of their dogs, as the norm. I asked Miles to station on his dog bed for very long hours in a busy house, and to remain still, safe, unobtrusive, and silent all day (day in, day out) until I could take him for a few short bathroom breaks and maybe a short walk each day.

Miles stayed glued off-leash to his bed in the flooded place with minimal breaks as several rounds of emergency workers waded in and out, as I packed for long hours, as I and the movers barged in and out, and then he was left alone for nearly a day. We moved to a hotel and then Airbnb, and it broke my heart that I still needed him to be silent, to do almost nothing, and to accept the bare minimum of care.

Miles rose to the occasion and proved to be a equal partner in this time of need. He offered everything he had, again and again, throughout the various rounds.

This stable disposition and ability to pivot during a crisis is the result of the hard work and training Miles and I have done together and the relationship between us that it has created. I always tell clients that it is really important to provide your dog with as much enrichment, exercise, training, and attention as you possibly can in normal times. If you do this, you will create a relationship where a high-needs, high-energy type of dog can trust you and have faith in you during the hard times. My clients who put their trust in me and do the work I suggest have the same results. It is a dream for me to share this life with Miles, and it is a dream I am so grateful to be able to share with others through my work.

So much in life doesn’t make sense. I can imagine dogs must be unsure all of the time about what the people they depend on for their care are doing. We are equally dependent on our dogs for profound things we don’t understand. The only thing I know for sure is that I am forever grateful I’ve been able to experience a bond that transcends the uncertainties of life.