Relationships

Four years since: What my first foster dog taught me

Big realizations and tiny seeds planted by our first foster dog in 2022, a bully-breed mix on medically mandated crate rest

Jun 16 • Haley Young

Why I don't use "it" to refer to nonhuman animals

They're living beings, not inanimate objects. And they shouldn't be solely defined by relationships to people!

May 20 • Haley Young

My dog didn't know I "rescued" her

And expecting her to be over-the-moon grateful would have been weird

May 13 • Haley Young

I don't believe in testing a dog's commitment to relaxation

I want my dog to interact with me as a social creature. Of course she responds to my own movements!

Oct 28, 2025 • Haley Young

A story of positive punishment and prancing prairie dogs

Dog training nuance, "positive punishment", and sharing space with Montana's wild creatures

Oct 16, 2025 • Haley Young

My dog is slowing down, but I can't imagine her death

How much time have I wasted on adrenaline in social-media comment sections when instead I could be loving my dog right here, right now, in front of me?

Oct 10, 2025 • Haley Young

Why I encourage my dog to play with things that aren't toys

I consider it one of our greatest accomplishments that Scout's expanding her idea of what constitutes a “toy”.

Oct 5, 2025 • Haley Young

It's just a slip lead, but sometimes an object becomes memory

But sometimes an object becomes more than an object.

Sep 23, 2025 • Haley Young

A squirrel, some chaos, and the circle of life

A squirrel, some chaos, the circle of life, and romanticization

Sep 12, 2025 • Haley Young

Hills I will die on as a dog lover

The more specific a guideline, the more likely I am to take issue with it. But I stand behind some overarching beliefs.

Sep 3, 2025 • Haley Young

Gifts for and of an old dog

She greets me when I walk in the door—everything different and everything the same—as if we had not spent the bulk of our lives hundreds of miles apart.

Aug 20, 2025 • Haley Young

I am not spiritual (and yet)

A prose-poem about the universe

Aug 4, 2025 • Haley Young

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