Suzy Q

I was logging on to post and this sweet princess decided she wanted to join. :)

Having a dog of my own has been a dream of mine for the last several years. I knew when I got a dog, I would be in a great place in my life. I knew by the time I got a dog, I would not only finally be out of my parents' place permanently, but also be making enough money for a dog to not cause a financial worry.

I knew Suzy would be good for my mental health, as dogs are known stress-relieving friends. I didn't anticipate all of the positives Suzy has had on my physical well-being as well. On a normal school day, Suzy and I take our long walk of the day after I get home from school (which has been pretty consistently 45 minutes earlier than before I had her which is a huge improvement for me). It allows her to stretch her legs after sitting on the couch all day (or recover from the party she has when we're gone, who knows?) and it helps me get out of the house and ignore any other responsibilities for about 20 minutes of my day. I'm walking more with Suzy than I was before, and she holds me accountable for our walks.

She's also kept me on a positive sleep schedule. I've always been an all-over-the-place sleeper. For years in high school, I probably slept about 4-5 hours a night. In college, I could never get enough sleep and would make up for a night out with friends with not leaving my bed until late in the afternoon. Neither of those are healthy! Suzy is ready for bed around 10 and expects me to get in there with her around that time. On the occasions this doesn't happen, I can tell she is annoyed I am staying up.

I've also been focusing on how much she eats so I am keeping her healthy. Not too many treats, not too many bones, only the best dog food for her based on weeks of research on ingredients and reviews. I finally started realizing that if I'm doing this for my dog, I probably should be doing the same for myself, too! I'm taking small steps to insure I'm putting more positives than negatives in my body.

Moving out and getting Suzy were the huge highlights of 2013. I'm looking forward to 2014 and being able to enjoy our little family with Jacob and Suzy. Our apartment has slowly turned into our home and I look forward to resigning our lease in a few months.