 Three weeks ago, I adopted a dog. I've been pretty obsessed with dogs my whole life, begging for one for years. I always dogsat for the neighborhood, but never was I allowed to have my own dog. Well, I live on my own now and have been saving for a dog, and when I saw a local rescue post the cutest video and photos of Roxy, what they guessed was a chihuahua-corgi mix, I sent in an application! I got to meet her a week later and brought her home. Roxy did not respond to her name as it was just given to her by the rescue, so I renamed her Mudge. Some of the first books I read as a child were the Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant and turns out the author lives in Portland, so the name felt right. Mudge immediately took to her new bed and every day I see her getting more comfortable with her surroundings and learning more. Within a few days, we locked down the "sit" command, made good progress on "lay down", and introduced "paw/shake". She can also jump through a hoop! She's patient with her food, always interested in trying whatever I'm cooking, and naps most of the day. Here's what she's tried so far. Likes:
My life in Portland has been typically been a challenge mentally and socially. I moved here for a relationship that failed immediately and found myself in a place where I knew only a couple acquaintances and didn't have easy transportation to run errands, be social, and generally get around. I work a remote job so meeting others locally was incredibly difficult and I spent a lot of my time being pretty depressed. Throughout my life, I've had a lot of close friends, but never a sense of being anyone's first choice. And that really really sucks, especially when you find yourself in a place where your options are even more limited than typical. When I lived in SF, being alone was easier. I could walk the city and go to the tourist locations and keep myself busy even if I was by myself. There's not that much to do in Portland. The charm in Portland is that there's a ton to explore just outside of it…hiking and camping and things that I don't really want to do alone. At the start of 2020, I made the resolution to stop feeling sorry for myself and the crappy situation I was in. Who cares if I had a tiny apartment, hosting and baking and sharing things with friends makes me happy…so I decided to start hosting game nights. I literally invited everyone I knew in Portland. Mainly friends of friends, some dates I'd friendzoned, classmates from college, my fourth cousin, neighbors…a motley crew truly. I started to have a more solid group, we'd go to trivia weekly, and even planned a trip camping together (which hopefully will still happen, it's at the end of the summer). But then the pandemic happened. And so the social interactions stopped, my weekly routines to get out of the house vanished, relying on others or public transportation for getting anywhere became unsafe, and so I just sat next to my window in my apartment. I'd go literally two weeks without going outside, because I live in a building with stairwells and a lobby where the coronavirus could easily be lurking. I'd leave my apartment to go to the grocery store when I really needed to, that was it. Meanwhile, my family was home, right outside of NYC, living in the epicenter of the pandemic in the US.  Having Mudge makes all the difference. She makes sure I get out of bed in the morning and that I get outside and exercise a bit. She makes me keep my apartment more tidy, which is huge for me. She makes me laugh and lets me hug her…which has been such a gift during this time. I honestly don't know how I'd keep my mind sane during this quarantine if I hadn't gotten her. Yeah I still feel lonely from time to time, but I have her and she has me. And we can adventure together now. Next step…getting a car so we can be mobile!
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Hi, I'm Sam.low-waste living, recipes, DIYS, style, sustainability, and travel. Categories
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