Taking Care of Yourself: Dirty Devotion

Happy Thursday, Positive Animal Caregivers! ♡🐾

We’ve stepped into March. Here in Toronto, the weather was warm enough that I managed a long walk outside — the kind that loosens your shoulders and invites new ideas. It left me thinking about this newsletter, and about you. Have you had a chance to take a short break lately?

For the next few minutes, this time is yours. Not the animals’. Not the clients’. Yours.

Animal caregiving is full of peaks and valleys. Last week, every one of you who voted shared that you were feeling positive — and that made me smile. Let’s pause and check in again —

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A couple of years ago, I spent three months living in Sri Lanka, working with street dogs — fighting rabies and managing dog overpopulation. But the real daily challenge? Skipping and tiptoeing — in flip-flops — around the piles of poop left behind on every street, after meals of leftover rice and curry.

Apparently, you don’t need to fly halfway across the world to experience this. This past week, The New York Times ran an article on the city’s poop situation. “On a one-block stretch of Riverside Drive on Wednesday,” the Times reported, “a pedestrian had to step around 37 deposits of decaying dog poop.” With the snow melting, what had been buried beneath it was suddenly revealed — drawing out the best dance moves from those in sneakers and dress shoes alike.

Cleaning up after your pet, it turns out, isn’t easy anywhere in the world. One Reddit user asked, “How can I get over the grossness of picking up after my dog?” and received 86 comments. Suggestions ranged from double bagging to scented poop bags to Vicks VapoRub. But the underlying message was clear: you have to cross a psychological barrier.

I did too. On my very first dog-walking volunteer shift at the shelter, when I was handed a few of those green poop bags, I wasn’t ready. When the dog started squatting, I felt a quiet internal negotiation begin — maybe someone else would handle it, maybe it wasn’t that bad, maybe I could look away. But there I was. As I bent down, I was met with both sensory and mental discomfort — and in that small, unglamorous moment, I left behind a piece of my pride and ego. (Recently, I felt that same internal resistance while learning to clean cat litter.)

At some point, without realizing it, the disgust softened. The hesitation faded. The act became routine — and then, somehow, invisible. Now, at the doggy daycare, I do this dozens of times a day without thinking twice. Don’t get me wrong — I still don’t enjoy it. My nightmare scenario: diarrhea, frozen hands, a bag that refuses to open — and the unforgettable moment of licking my finger to pry it apart, only to realize what I’d just touched. And that’s without mentioning the poop-eating dogs, constantly trying — and often succeeding — to outsmart me for their afternoon snacks.

I recently learned that people will pay upwards of $25 for a weekly yard poop pickup service. “It’s an honest job,” said Ryan Lund, the owner of one such business, in an interview. Like me, he grew tired of the tech industry and left wanting something different. Poop picking is more than honest work. It takes grit and determination — qualities animal caregivers build without ever setting out to. Somewhere along the way, the pride I once took in my own image was replaced by the pride I take in caring for my animals.

Does this unglamorous task remind you why you care in the first place?

The number of transition days required for introducing a cat to a new type of litter.

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Mark your calendars for these upcoming opportunities to connect with others:

Here are the ways to recharge this week. Pick ONE small thing that makes you smile. You’ve earned it. 

Listen: I recommend the song “Underdog" by Alicia Keys. YouTube said: "0% porn. 0% stupid lyrics. 0% material things. 100% true and lovely music about humanity." Comment or reply to share a song that lifts you up.  

Watch: Relax with Lost Sheep, a paper stop motion animation about a three-legged lamb and his shepherd. 

Write: Start a gratitude journal. This week’s prompt: The one fear I have overcome. 

Appreciate: Set a five-minute timer and appreciate a beautiful piece of art. The art for this week is: White, Black and Yellow.

Try: Declutter one small thing. Choose a single item from your home and donate or let it go.

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Thanks for spending part of your day with me and the rest of the Positive Animal Caregivers Club. Take care of yourself this week. Remember - even superheroes need naps. 

– Philip