365 Day Mood Project

Today, I made the mistake of continuing to be informed about the state of the world. I’m going to be so real with you, I was not my best self today.

As per my usual style, I’m going to take a quick moment to have a cute little rant. This may be a controversial take, but I encourage you to crash out. There’s a lot of discussion about regulating and such, but I don’t know that people fully understand what it means. It doesn’t mean that you’re calm all the time. When something absolutely bonkers happens, you’re allowed to be angry. You’re allowed to be scared. That’s all feeling your feelings. The key is whether you are reacting appropriately to your conditions, or if this reaction based on past trauma and not the reality of what’s in front of you. So if you’re crashing out over having a pedophile for a president? THAT’S AN APPROPRIATE REACTION TO CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES. FEEL YOUR FEELINGS. The important thing is that you come back to yourself after.

Ok, thank you for your patience with my rant. So how did I come back to myself? On Day 11, we play with some dogs.

Today, I went with my friends to Yard Bar on Burnet Rd. If you are a pet owner, you can get a membership. If you want to try it out, it’s $12 per day. Basically, it’s a dog park where you can have a beer. What more could you ask for? It’s great.

Pets are a great way to get yourself out of a funk, but if you’re like me, and the responsibility of it seems like too much, fear not! There are multiple ways to get your pet fix.

1. Borrow your friends’ pets

Yes, I love my friends, but if you think I’m not scooping up their little potatoes to come sit on my lap and snuggle? You’re crazy. If you tell your friend you need some pet time, chances are they’ll let you borrow them. The amazing thing about having friends that care about you is that if you ask to come over and pet their cat, or dog? They’ll probably say yes.

2. Borrow your friends’ dogs and take them to the dog park

Yard Bar was great because I snuggled my friend’s pets, but also everyone else’s, as they came up. So, you can also go with your friends to dog parks, and then you can borrow more people’s pets. There were some adorable Pomskis I met, and I think those dogs alone healed me.

3. Go to Austin Animal Center

If you go to the Austin Animal Center, they separate the behavior level of all their dogs by colored dots. When you go, green dot dogs are walkable by anyone in the community. You don’t have to be a volunteer or an employee; you can just go in and walk the dog. I would also recommend asking if you can use one of their houses on the property. It simulates a home environment, so you can bring a dog in there and have some couch time.

4. Also consider volunteering for the Austin Animal Center

This is a good way to not only get pet time but also start finding your community. I used to volunteer here, and I had a great experience. If you sign up to volunteer, they’ll bring you in for a training. After that, you can come in and walk any of the green and blue dot dogs. If you want to work with other dogs, they’ll provide the training to do that. You can also sign up for any of their other events. Everyone is incredibly friendly, so it’s a good way to meet people. Some of the volunteers will even walk dogs together. There’s a Facebook group, too. It’s a great way to get animal time, get out of your house, and meet new people who might care about the same things you do.

Also? You could adopt a pet. If you think that’s something you’re ready for, I’ve had many friends who have said it’s been the best thing for their mental health.

Go forth and snuggle all of the animals! And with that, Day 11 is done. Keep it pushing. Love you, mean it!