Last semester I blogged about the dogs I felt everyone should own, as I have spent countless hours working at a doggie daycare and have gotten to know nearly every breed of dog possible. I have worked with big and little dogs, old and young dogs, mean and kind dogs, and everything in between. I am choosing to stay on the topic of dogs again this semester, but this time I want to share my personal stories of dogs I grew extremely close to and love as my own, rather than talking merely about the general descriptions of breeds.
Dogwood Acres Pet Retreat is a doggie daycare and boarding center in Davidsonville, Maryland. I was lucky enough to start working just after my 16th birthday and have grown immensely as a person because of my employment at Dogwood. Though interacting with dogs is extremely different than interacting with humans, I have learned how to be more patient, calm in the face of crisis, and resourceful, all qualities I feel are extremely beneficial in the everyday world.
Dogwood welcomes both daycare dogs that get dropped off at the start of the day and picked up in the evening and lodging dogs who sleep over at Dogwood and stay for extended periods of time. A vast majority of daycare dogs come everyday of the work week, as their parents are working individuals and can not be home everyday to take care of their pets. I have grown very close with many daycare dogs, but one my personal favorite dog is a Chocolate Lab named Tater.
Tater is one of the craziest dogs I have ever met. He is a gigantic ball of constant energy and an overwhelming desire to play. He is an everyday daycare dog and occasional lodging dog when his parents go on business trips. In the summer time, Tater LOVES to swim and spend every second outside, playing with his daycare friends. Tater likes to try to “hug” Dogwood staff which may seem sweet until you see him. He is a humongous lab that ends up tackling anyone he tries to show affection too. He isn’t fat, he is just muscular and large.
This is where my personal anecdote comes in. I had a group of dogs outside for a playtime on a very hot July day last summer. We were in the pool yard, so dogs could go swimming or relax in the shade if they chose to do so. Tater got to Dogwood after the group and I had already made it to the yard, so he was brought out later, by himself. Tater and I were both very excited to see each other, as made apparent by me excitedly yelling his name and he running at top speed towards me. Tater jumped towards me, tried to hug me, and knocked me into the shallow end of the doggie pool. Lucky for me, this was all caught on Dogwood’s live stream and is forever preserved on a Flash Drive.