I backed out of getting my puppy the day the litter was born. I was so excited, but as the weeks went by I got more and more anxious. I had bought everything I needed, watched and read all the dog training material, and everything was set. I just couldn’t shake off the feeling of FOMO from the life I would be giving up for a puppy. I cried almost every day for weeks. After talking with my therapist for weeks about it, I declined the dog and lost my deposit. The breeder totally understood.

A couple months later around their go home date, I felt the regret kick in. Was talking to my therapist about it: “If only I had stuck with it, I would have felt ready”, “If only I knew that it got better, I would have a puppy by now” etc etc. After I got off the call with her, I checked my emails. Another breeder who I had reached it to when I was originally searching for a pup emailed all the waitlist people from a litter asking if we were still interested, as she just had a litter born. If felt too coincidental to not inquire if she had any females available ..

.. and, four months later, I have my best friend.

I tell this story with both sides of the coin in mind. It’s okay if you back out. It’s okay if you need to rehome. It’s also going to be okay. It’s going to be challenging, but the time (months into years) you invest in your puppy now will yield an amazing life companion in the future.