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How To Cope With Missing Your Dog At Uni

How To Cope With Missing Your Dog At Uni

There’s no easy way to let go.

They just don’t understand why the house is suddenly full of bags and boxes, then you’ve gone! You can’t explain that you’re moving out for most of the year to get a degree. (Well i’ve tried, but I don’t think it was understood).

My dog is a Border Terrier crossed with a Lakeland Terrier named Alfie.

Nicknames: Nalf, Alfred, Alf, Albus, Scruff, Squidge.

border terrier, dog sat on wall

He is everything to me. I had wanted a dog my whole life and I remember settling on a Border Terrier named Alfie when I was very young, when I was in my Nintendogs phase. He is 6 years old, and my favourite thing ever. He can do loads of tricks such as ‘bang’, ‘speak’, ‘high five’ as well as the standard ones. This is why it was all the more difficult to leave. As tragic as this departure is, I was never going to let it sway my decision to move, and have tried to make it as easy as possible for myself. Here is what I did;

  1. Facetime.

There’s nothing funnier than calling his name as my sister holds her phone up to his face and seeing his confused little expression as he runs round the house looking for me. Emosh? Yes, but seeing that he is all well and good makes me feel better.

2. Social Media

Nowadays, most people have iPhones, tablets, or any device allowing them to use Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and the good ol’ Snapchat. My sister and my mum are fond of these, (although my mum says ‘i’ll face message you’) which lets me see what Alf is up to, what he’s done that day, and whichever weird sleeping position he is in at the time. I suggest giving your mum, dad, whoever, a lesson in snapchat before you go and hoping for the best.

dog on facebook messanger

3. Photos

I had tonnes of photos of Alf all around my room at Uni, not only does it bring a smile to my face but also a sense of pride when people would say ‘aww is that your dog?’. My mum and brother even went a step further and got me a big cushion with his face on that sits in the middle of my bed. As cute as this is, I must admit it has made me jump a couple of times when I got home drunk and thought he was actually there..

university bedroom, melville grove university of liverpool

4. Ask to stroke people’s dogs!

Petting the dogs of people in the street not only gives you that canine connection, (I am instant best friends with any dog I see) but it also allows you to talk about your dog with the owner.

5. Make friends with people in the same situation.

The first friend I made just so happened to be a Vet Student called Sinead, I instantly loved her because she worked in a Veterinary Practise so had loads of stories about animals. Whilst when we first met, she didn’t have a dog, she was about as obsessed with them as I am. I am also very lucky in that my boyfriend Matt has a gorgeous red Labrador called Ruby, so we spent most of first year talking about our dogs, tagging each other in dog pictures on Facebook, and playing with any homeless persons’ dog in the street. (We did give them all money for the privilege). It was nice knowing that I wasn’t the only one pining for my dog than my parents, oops, and it made me feel less silly for being like that. Your parents know where you are and what you’re doing, your little fluff-ball doesn’t.

I hope that this makes it easier for someone, it’s normal to feel sad and miss doggy cuddles. If this doesn’t work, the odd trip home will certainly do the trick, and just think how excited they will be to see you after so long.

Brb, going to give Alf a massive cuddle and not let go until I leave on Tuesday.

girl and dog, girl cuddles dog, border terrier

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