Julie
I got my Shiba Inu, Shassi, when I was 16. My mother and aunt did the best they could (and I'm lucky to have them) but there was only so much they could do with a sulky teenager. I was a depressed, anti-social loner who was wallowing in self-pity and angst. Shassi, while extremely cute, was flagrantly disobedient, aggressive towards other animals and had been known to steal the butter right out of the dish on the dining room table. Despite her manifold character flaws, everyone in my family loved Shassi. When this dog had driven everyone of them to either tears or incoherant rages, that's saying something.
These days I'm much less of a loner and not that anti-social. I bicycle everywhere I go, including 100+ km trips to other citys. I have a tubal ligation I got when I was 24 because I knew then that I would never want children of my own. I changed my name because I didn't like my first one. I don't need a man to take care of me, but I can enjoy it when there's a man (or men) in my life. I still get depressed and wallow in angst, but I also take control and do whatever I need to do to snap myself out of it.
I had learned a thing or two during the early years of watching Shassi grow up and dealing with her many peccadillos. She wasn't an easy dog to live with because she was her own dog. Eventually I realized that while she was cute, what we all loved her for was the very reason she drove us nuts. Shassi loved herself and we loved her because of it.
As I grew up with Shassi and incorporated more of this philosophy into my own life, I found that I had a lot more time for interesting pursuits and making friends. I'm still learning to love myself for who I am. I'm noticing that the more that I do, the more the world seems to open for me. Now I have lots of friends who love me for who I am. A few of them did before I started liking myself, but it took a true Heartless Bitch to show me why they do and why I should.
But we still don't walk her without a leash.
Country: Canada
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