Life with dogs is frequently wonderful. Loving, snuggly, exciting, and funny — but it also can be challenging and sometimes just plain difficult. And sometimes it’s hard to admit the trials and tribulations of life with dogs.
Austin Conway knows all about it, and he put it out there on Facebook for the world to see. Conway is a professional baseball player who plays for the Chicago White Sox minor league team, and he recently wrote about the struggles with Stella, his beloved adopted German shepherd mix. “My girl Stella is just too much to handle sometimes,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Really hate to be making this post right now… My girl Stella is just too much to handle sometimes. She is constantly…
Posted by Austin Conway on Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Oh, Stella!
Adopted four years ago, Stella is large, she sheds, and she’s a quirky kind of girl who challenges Conway all the time.
Conway shares “She is constantly shedding all over my bed and clothes. Is always wanting to go outside at the most inconvenient times. The other day she even stole a piece of bread off of my plate when I wasn’t looking. And it’s even harder to find an apartment to live in that will take her since she is a German Shepherd mix.” Unfortunately, that often means paying more.
Really hate to be making this post right now… My girl Stella is just too much to handle sometimes. She is constantly…
Posted by Austin Conway on Tuesday, February 11, 2020
The post hit home for many who can relate. In fact, Conway’s absolute honesty was a breath of fresh air for 45,000 people who liked the post.
Hair, There and Everywhere
If you’ve ever loved a dog, you know about the hair everywhere, the potty breaks in inclement weather, expensive vet care, dog food, barf on the bed, chewed up walls and shoes, and a potty accident in the house, or five. And sometimes it can get you down. You just want to pull out your hair.
Really hate to be making this post right now… My girl Stella is just too much to handle sometimes. She is constantly…
Posted by Austin Conway on Tuesday, February 11, 2020
And even though as dog lovers we may grit our teeth, we’ve come to the same conclusion as Conway, who went on to say “…I will not be giving her up. I will continue to deal with pet hair on all of my belongings. I will continue to get out of bed at 6 am or midnight when she’s begging me to go out even though I just took her. I will continue dealing with a food thief. I will continue to base my living situation off of her for as long as she’s alive. And I will continue making any sacrifice I SIGNED UP FOR when I adopted her over four years ago.
“She will continue to be with me no matter what city I move to, however many children I have, or how much of a pain in my ass she can be. She’s family, and if you don’t view an animal in this same way, please do us all a favor and don’t get a pet until you do.”
For the Love of Dog
In a follow-up post, Conway expressed his pleasant surprise when he saw all the positive reactions and comments on his original post from others facing struggles with their own dogs.
He wrote: “Whatever you’re going through with your pet, good times and bad, it will always be worth it … I’m grateful for however many people this can reach, and I hope it makes a small impact in raising some much-needed awareness in the pet community!”
Blown away by how many people have been reached by my post of Stella. This was certainly never what I intended when I…
Posted by Austin Conway on Wednesday, February 12, 2020
As dog lovers, we’ve all been there. We did sign up for it, and we’d do it all over again because you can’t buy that kind of unconditional love. And family is family, plus life truly is better with dogs.
We’re so glad Conway and Stella found each other.
Follow them on Instagram and Twitter.
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