I lost the two greatest loves of my life, my black lab, Riley, and my yellow lab, Kobi, within a year of each other. Four years later, and my heart still has not fully healed. I do not know if it ever will. There is no love quite like that of a dog. So, now having the time and the means to be able to care for the animals of working-class people or travelers, or whatever the circumstance may be, is my literal dream come true, to get all these chances to care for their furry family members while they are away. *My black lab, Riley, lived her whole life with Addison’s Disease. It’s a very rare disease in dogs. I was given the option of having her put down as a puppy, when she was first diagnosed, because the vets knew caring for such a disease would not only be costly but would also be a lot of work. Without any hesitation, I chose to care for my sweet baby Riley, and she outlived her Addisonian life expectancy by three years! I had to provide her with 2/3 of a small pill EVERY DAY. I had to make her a special diet since the pill was a steroid pill and so I had to watch her weight. And I had to take her to get a steroid shot once a month until her passing at age 11. A LOT of work went into caring for Riley, but I absolutely regret nothing and wish I could have cared for her and had her for longer. *My yellow lab, Kobi, was what I called a “medical marvel.” He had every medical issue under the sun happen to him and so he was also a lot of work to care for. He ended up having an allergy rash from all generic brands of food. So, I had to cook him chicken and green beans 5 times a week. He ended up having early signs of arthritis and so it was my job to make sure Kobi was in the best shape of his life so that his joints were not overworked by being overweight. We would walk, and even run, every single day I came home from work. He had benign bumps and lumps all over his body (despite one of which, not being benign, that ended up being the reason for his passing), but I made sure to rub him and soothe him every night before bed to ensure he was never in any pain. *A family friend “hired” me to dog sit for their two black Newfoundlands (Buzz and Houston) while they traveled. This happened sporadically for 1 full year. I put “hired” in quotes because I truly did not want their money, but since I would occasionally overnight dog-sit at their home, they insisted I be paid for my time. They were SHOCKED that I was able to walk BOTH Newfies (both around 130 lbs each) at the same time. They had a fenced in backyard and so, along with the nightly walks, we would play endlessly until it got dark. *I used to volunteer my time at a local shelter, interacting with dogs and even walking a few. This volunteer position only lasted a few weekends, as my full-time job ended up becoming very busy at that time.