Choya Was Home Alone!

It was a short trip to Bangkok for the man and I, but it was as long as we were willing to leave Choya, and not exhaust her caregivers. Choya's care required meticulous planning. I knew that leaving Choya at home alone and engaging professional sitters and paying them well for their time and effort to do drop-ins was the way to go. These sitters I've engaged are utterly ethical and have uncompromising values when it comes to caring for dogs. It also helps that they're trained vet techs.

While the sitters are absolutely professional and know how to walk a dog and feed her, I also needed to help them by working out logistics on my side and be very clear and organized. I drafted the AM/PM environment and 10-point instructions, took photos of where things are placed and labeled them, et cetera. We even planned for contingencies of flight delays, because that would mean an extra day of care needed. Choya is completely house trained. She is perfectly fine home alone, till the thunder crackles. Still, this is the first time she was left alone for more than six hours, what more for a few days. There would be some sort of anxiety that I needed to try to foresee, manage and ameliorate. 

Smol Girl is neurotic and has severe storm anxiety. She has a tendency to scratch till her nails and paws bleed. That blood splatter all over can be scary. I needed experienced professionals who know what to do. This isn't a vet emergency unless she tears off a nail. I can't control the weather. I could only pray as hard as I could for weather mercies. Amen. Thankfully, the weather held through the nights, for each of the 12 hours that she was alone. Alexa did her job, and the sitters set the PM environment, with a little help from Gabapentin. No blood was spilled. Thank God.

My neighbors too, were absolutely lovely. They dropped in every afternoon with Maya and Ivy (Choya's childhood friends) to cheer her up. And floof-fwens totally did so. These floofs made her so happy and rode through thunderstorms with her. She counted four sundowns, and then she was thrilled to see us walk through the front door, finally. 🦊

I couldn't believe my ears and luck when O volunteered to be the main human to come check in on Choya. OMG. That was amazingly precious. It's an offer that no money can buy. What a friend! And she did. She really did. I felt so bad that she portioned out so much time for Choya. O has my eternal gratitude. I'll never forget this humongous favor she has done for us.

So many good friends reached out to offer to check in on Choya. They know that sitters can bear the bulk of the work of walking and feeding, but it would be a breeze if everyone rotates to check in on Smol Girl. I'm so appreciative. They didn't need to — these four people got it down pat. But I know that I have many people to depend on in the event of an emergency. I'm blessed, and I can't be more grateful for these friendships. #FriendsForLife All these, gave me a peace of mind to do what I needed to do in Bangkok. 

The man and I came home to a dog who isn't the least bit traumatized by our absence. In fact, she was so cheeky greeting us that night when we stepped through the door. My sweet girl's temperament is still even, and she is herself, all cheek and sass. This, is priceless. 🧡