The Dog Tag

I remember thinking- is this all there is? I had done everything “correctly” and yet found myself perpetually asking this question. I had graduated in the middle of a pandemic and managed to land a job- one related to my degree- and one where I was helping people. That was the dream, right? But then why was I so miserable? 

Yes, there was a lot to be grateful for in that role. But I found that the actual day to day to be tedious and I would quite often make careless mistakes because I was daydreaming. I knew this wasn’t me. I am someone who is full of passion and takes pride in her work. But now I moved through the days in a trance- feeling like the shell of myself without a spark inside to push me forward.

During this time there was one part of my life that did bring slivers of happiness in my otherwise bleak routine. It was going on walks with my dog. 

Soon after graduating college, I fell into dog sitting when one of my mom’s friends asked if anyone was available to watch their dogs for a couple of days. Having nothing better to do, I volunteered myself. So, I found myself going over to their house, setting up my work laptop and diligently tending to their dogs in between meetings.  Feeding, walking, and petting rhythmically broke up my day- with little surges of joy overcoming me each time I caught sight of their wagging tails. I would catch myself grinning when in the middle of the day I’d find a little tongue giving me a lick of encouragement.  It was in these moments I would sigh thinking to myself, if I could just do this every day, I would be so happy. But I always brushed it off. I already had a job and spending all day with animals seemed like an unrealistic dream. I told myself I’d get adjusted to this current role and forget all about this silly idea. But as the months slipped into years, I never found myself adjusting. In fact, I found myself growing more and more dissatisfied. So, one day when I found myself lamenting about how nice it would be to spend my days caring for pets a quiet voice in my mind answered back- why not? For the first time, I let myself imagine it. Me, owning my own business, spending every day loving and caring for animals like they were my own. When I imagined it somewhere deep inside of me, I felt it- a small spark flickered inside of me.

In June 2022 I quit my job and followed that spark and stoked it into a flame. I created The Dog Tag Pet Services and worked full time walking dogs and pet sitting a variety of different animals. I have found there is truly nothing in the world I love more than getting to care for animals, thanking them for just being there and giving us their unspoken love. I no longer find myself just trying to get through the day. Instead, I’ve found my heart filled with joy- and I’ve learned that when you follow joy, passion and dedication follow.