{"id":43505,"date":"2018-04-16T11:48:37","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T17:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=43505"},"modified":"2021-02-07T20:46:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T03:46:11","slug":"there-are-challenges-but-also-some-magic-in-owning-a-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2018\/04\/16\/there-are-challenges-but-also-some-magic-in-owning-a-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"There are challenges, but also some magic, in owning a dog"},"content":{"rendered":"

B<\/span>ecoming the owner of a dog always presents new challenges into a person\u2019s life and the lives of those around them.<\/p>\n

J<\/span>osh Miller is a 20-year-old welder who recently decided to take on the responsibility of owning a French bulldog named Midas.<\/p>\n

Midas is 10 months old and has been mostly trained to use pads to go to the toilet, but there are still times when he doesn\u2019t use them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really tough becoming a dog owner during a Calgary winter, especially with such a small dog,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n

A recent study by Environment Canada has stated that this has been the coldest\u00a0 for Calgary in some time.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to be able to let Midas outside to go do his business or go for walks but it\u2019s just too cold,\u201d said Miller.<\/p>\n

“That is something that I wish I had thought about before buying him but it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

As consequence of not being able to take Midas outside, the pads that the dog has been using leave a lingering smell.<\/p>\n

This is something that frustrates Miller\u2019s roommates including Brandt Davis, a second-year student and the University of Calgary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the little guy but man its tough coming downstairs and smelling the used pads, so I suggested to Josh that we keep a garbage outside for the pads to make things easier and so far things have been better,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

Originally there weren’t supposed to be pets in the home but Miller was able to convince his mom who is the landlord that he was responsible enough to take care of a dog, and the residence.<\/p>\n

Davis was a little apprehensive at first about bringing a dog into the home but quickly warmed up when meeting the young pup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was worried about having to take care of him when Josh isn\u2019t around but Midas has been pretty good which probably comes with him being 10 months old already. So ultimately it hasn\u2019t changed much, \u201c said Davis.<\/p>\n

Miller was clear that he didn\u2019t want the responsibilities that Midas comes with to fall on his roommates although he doesn\u2019t mind the help.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Man’s Best Friend:\u00a0<\/strong>Josh Miller and his new French bulldog Midas in his home in Calgary on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. Miller recently chose to take on the responsibility of being a dog owner. Midas is 10 months old.(Photo by Ty W. Rothermal\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my dog and my responsibility, I don\u2019t expect anyone else to take care of him nor his needs. But everyone is more than willing to help, which makes things a bit easier and more flexible,\u201d said Miller.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I don\u2019t use that willingness to affect anyone else\u2019s plans. That just isn\u2019t fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s other roommate is his brother, Jake Miller, who was unsure about the point in getting a dog but has grown to enjoy having Midas around.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was confused about why Josh wanted a dog since we don\u2019t really have much of a yard especially during the winter. But he\u2019s just a really playful pup that\u2019s fun to have around,\u201d said Jake Miller.<\/p>\n

The Miller brothers always grew up with a big dog and the change to such a small dog in Midas has been a nice once.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe nice thing about Josh\u2019s choice of such a small dog is that it is much easier to clean up. That little guy could never cause a major issue,\u201d Jake Miller said.<\/p>\n

One issue Josh Miller was worried about was that Midas might be an issue when everyone is trying to sleep, since he works night shifts at his job as a welder.<\/p>\n

However, that hasn\u2019t been the case, as Davis points out.<\/p>\n

\u201cMidas does yip a bit initially when Josh isn\u2019t around but he calms down pretty quick and goes about his own business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Josh Miller admits while things have been slightly more challenging than expected he is more than happy with his decision to bring Midas into his life.<\/p>\n

Josh Miller is looking forward to the warmer spring weather in order to train Midas outdoors and take him for walks and to the park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Becoming the owner of a dog always presents new challenges into a person\u2019s life and the lives of those around them. Josh Miller is a 20-year-old welder who recently decided to take on the responsibility [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":407,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S3 New Dog Owner Challenges","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-life"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/407"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43505"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44449,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43505\/revisions\/44449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}