Hey guys, I'm still here and still losing weight. I think I'm around 241 now, so I've lost like 2.5 lbs since I posted last. The last week has been kind of awful and I really need to vent about it.
Last weekend I adopted a dog. This was not a decision I made impulsively or lightly. I take pet ownership VERY seriously. I've been researching about dog ownership for the last year and have been searching for what I felt was the right dog for the last three months. My one big thing was that the dog needed to be ok with the cat. The last thing I wanted to do was traumatize him in the process. I thought I had found the right one and I thought that I was ready. I brought her home on Sunday and almost immediately felt like it was a mistake, but I wanted to give it a chance. The cat immediately ran and hid and she went after him, which I expected. I have a friend who has introduced many pets of different species to each other to form a harmonious household and she told me that they should be fine with each other in like two weeks. I figured with the right dog and the right approach to introduce her to the cat, she was probably right and that I could deal with that period of acclimatization. I blocked off the upstairs to the dog so the cat could feel like he had a safe space to acclimatize himself and kept the dog downstairs. What that meant though is that at least until the two were willing to share a room, I had to pick to either sleep downstairs with the dog or upstairs with the cat. I started alternating. This was not a good situation because on the days I slept with the dog, I only really saw the cat when I fed him. On the days I slept with the cat, the dog was alone for 15+ hours a day which is a terrible situation for a dog and she cried a lot. I told myself that if it was a relatively temporary and short term issue, it would be ok. Well, yesterday (after four days) the cat worked up the courage to try and come downstairs. I encouraged him because it seemed like the dog was sleeping and I felt it would be a good opportunity for him to learn that it could be ok. As soon as he got to the bottom of the stairs and within four feet of her, she went after him. It seemed to be aggressive chasing as well, not chasing born out of curiosity or playfulness. It's entirely possible that I'm overreacting or misinterpreting because it scared me so badly, but I'm pretty convinced that if he hadn't been able to get behind the pet gate he might not be here today. Regardless of whether it was actually aggressive or not, this tells me that this process could possibly take months rather than a couple of week. I really feel that trying to keep this up for months is not fair to either animal and that neither one of them is getting what they need. I feel like I can't trust her around the cat and neither animal should basically be forced to spend almost the whole day alone because I can't be on separate floors at the same time. For this reason, I've decided to take her back even though it's been less than a week since I adopted her. I feel so guilty for upheaving both of their lives so much to ultimately decide it wouldn't work. I also genuinely feel like returning her is the best choice. If I do, she can find a home where the owner's attention doesn't have to be split and she could be in a home without cats. This has been bothering me so much, I essentially haven't eaten much or slept more than a couple hours a night since I brought the dog home.
She's actually a pretty great dog in a lot of ways. She's smart and learns quickly, doesn't bark, doesn't seem to have issues with separation anxiety, is good on the leash, hasn't had any accidents in the house, etc. She just not good with the cat and that was the one thing that was a hard line in the sand for me. I feel like a bad person. I feel like I should be trying harder to make this work, but I honestly don't know what else I could do other than give it more time and I feel like the time is the one thing really working against us. I can feel it in my gut that this particular dog is just not a good fit and I know that returning her now before she's gotten really attached is a better choice than trying to continue on the path that I've been on or what could possibly be the next three or four months. I just hate that I thought I was ready and could handle this, but was wrong and now my animals are paying for it.
You are doing really well Cory. Well done also on the 2.6lbs lost, soda free for a month & reducing your waist. 
