The picture you see above is my dog: Rosie. We adopted her right after my senior year of high school and she’s been an amazing part of our family ever since. She’s one of those dogs who likes to lay in the sun spot in the family room early in the cold mornings, then get up to beg for food at the table while we eat, and then go back and lay in the sunspot after the food has been put away because all that begging just tuckered her out. (Mind you, she’s only four.)
She loves to go on walks around the local parks or the big nature center we have near our house, and she enjoys slow car rides where she can stick her head out of the window and sniff the air. She enjoys cuddling and sleeping with us in our beds where slowly takes half the bed for herself, effectively pushing you out of the bed in the middle of the night. She hates seeing you go and loves greeting you when you return, and she’s always wagging her tail. She’s the best dog a girl could ask her, so it pained me to pack my car and leave for college, knowing it’d be weeks at a time before we could see each other again.
Every college student with a family dog experiences this horror. Watching your dog as you pack, their eyes appearing confused at first and then slowly they become sad with the realization that you’re leaving and they become inconsolable. Their tail droops, they become pouty, and they won’t even roll over for a belly rub. It’s quite awful. Then you leave, watching them watch you as you drive away, and everything is suddenly dreadful. It’s at this moment, you’re beginning to experience what I call the five stages of leaving your dog to go to school. The stages go as follows.
Denial.
Everything will be OK, you tell yourself. Someone is home to take care of them. They will still get their treats, their walks, their pats and loves. Your dog will miss you, and you them, but school isn’t that long, right? And there are breaks coming up soon where you can go home and see them. It isn’t so bad, right?
Anger.
Nope, it’s that bad. It’s been weeks since you’ve seen your dog. You talk to your family and ask how they’re doing, wanting daily pictures and reports to know what they’re up to. Stupid school housing,” you begin to think, “Why can’t my dog live here with me? I miss having them around. You feel both jealousy and pain when you see a dog being walked around campus, and you fight the urge to grip the dog’s owner by the arms and tell them to treasure this time now, for they may not always have it this good.
Bargaining.
You start looking at the calendar for school, wondering if driving home for the weekend is worth it. There’s got to be a Friday or Monday you can take off, right? Make it a nice long weekend to spend with your furry friend. You start collecting treats and toys to bring home with you so that they know you miss and love them. They have to know. You can’t leave this long and not bring them something. It’s not right.
No, your dog won’t accept these gifts! They hate you for leaving for so long! In fact, you’ve been gone for so long, they won’t even remember you. No one can convince you otherwise. Your dog is sad because of you. You should feel awful! Your dog is sad because of you. No good person makes their dog sad. You are terrible! What kind of dog owner are you? Go stand in the corner and cry.
Acceptance.
OK, so you left for school and had to leave your dog. It sucks, but that’s how it goes. Your dog won’t hate you and won’t forget you. You’re sad they’re not around to beg and be underfoot and take up all the space on the bed, but you’ll be back together soon, and you can wait for that. And you know that the moment you walk through the door, their ears will perk up, their tails will wag, and they’ll come running to lick you in the face, and love you like they always have.
It sucks being away, but reuniting with man’s best friend is one of the best things in the world. And hopefully, if you’re missing your dog, you can see them soon and love them like always because they’ll be just as happy to see you as you are to see them.
Congratulations! You’ve made it through the five stages of leaving your dog. Now get ready, because it’ll happen all of over again when you leave for the new semester.
