Dog ownership

As a child and as an adult I had not been fond of animals. At times I was tempted to adopt a cat, yet my allergy to cats put paid to those wishes. When being involved in charity, I always helped people and never donated money nor volunteered to animal shelters. Having something in common with pets was not my cup of tea.

Last summer I met a girl who has had a dog. Over the first weeks I was a bit of indifferent towards the creature, but with time, as she (the dog) began to treat me as a companion (and stopped barking on me fiercely every time I popped on to my girlfriend’s place), we (the dog and I) hit it off with each other.

My fondness grew, yet I was slightly afraid of looking after the pet. I first took her for a walk on my own in early October 2022 and recall I was slightly scared. A month later when my girlfriend and her parents flew to Turkey for holidays, the dog stayed with me for a week and I not only got on with it, but was elated to have a flatmate.

Having a dog is above all a duty. Taking it out for a walk three times a day is a must and it consumes between 60 and 90 minutes a day, which is a lot if you are in a rush, work-wise. Going to the office for 12 hours, as I tend to have to (more about recent developments on the corporate front soon), is also out of question. When the dog stays in my flat, I switch to home office only.

When taking a dog a for walk, picking up its turds is a must. I have quickly overcome the abhorrence, but I know for several people this down-to-earth element of looking after the dog is too difficult.

A bigger nuisance is cleaning the fur at home. In November it was no problem, but since early December the dog kept shedding her coat (which is not seasonal) and vacuum cleaning has become the order of the day.

I can tell you little about the costs, since so far all have been borne by my girlfriend, but I estimate all recurring (feed) and one-off (vet, vaccinations, toys) expenses count up to between PLN 500 and PLN 1,000 per month.

Upsides of having a dog friend who which brings joy to your home compensate the above with a surplus!