Finding the poor, abandoned dog next to the road was not a happy night for me.
I had never wanted a dog, or any pet for that matter, but seeing it there, just a few feet away from traffic, left me no choice.
Maybe I didn’t want a dog, but I never would let an animal be harmed in such a cruel way. I took her home with me, cleaned her up, and then the next day took her to the vet to get her checked out and find her a new home. Long story short, she has been my dog ever since! Before her, I ran my A/C at full blast almost every single day. I would turn off the thermostat when I left for the day, but whenever I was home I had it going all out! It turns out that high level of cooling makes my dog uncomfortable, so I have gradually been dialing that back. So I ran the HVAC system less when I am home, but I also have to run it a lot more when I am not home. Not even for the cooling, just for the air quality, and to keep everything circulating so the dog odors don’t build up. I bathe her every week, and she stays pretty clean, but even cleans dogs can wreak havoc on your indoor air quality. I also have to be a lot more mindful of changing out my air filters on a regular basis, because they can get jammed up with dog hair so quickly.