Leaving My Dog Felt Impossible — Until It Wasn't

By Miles, a pet owner from the US

I used to say I’d never leave my dog with anyone. She’s my best friend, my shadow, my coffee-drinking, long-walk-taking partner in crime. How could I trust a stranger to take care of her?

But then came the trip I couldn’t say no to. A dream work opportunity in Amsterdam. So, after way too much research, I found FlatRover. I chatted with a sitter, Lucy — a vet student who had just moved to the city a few months before her studies started. She was looking for a way to settle in, get to know the area, and, most importantly, spend time with dogs before diving into her studies. It felt like the perfect fit.

I left a ridiculous list of instructions (seriously, it was a novel). Lucy followed them all. She sent daily updates, took my dog on even longer walks than I did, and-no joke-one night, she sent me a photo of the two of them curled up under a blanket in the armchair by the fireplace, watching The Secret Life of Pets. “She picked the movie,” Lucy wrote. “Obviously :)”

By the time I got back, my dog barely looked up from her nap. I had been replaced. And honestly? That’s the best feeling in the world.

Even after my trip, Lucy would stop by just to hang out with her. Some days they’d go for a walk, other times I’d catch them napping in the backyard like two old friends who had nothing better to do. She never said it out loud, but I knew — some part of her had already become attached.

• Then, my dog had puppies. I sent Lucy a picture as a joke. “You want one?”
  
  
• She laughed. “Too much responsibility in vet school.” That was always the excuse.
  
  
• But a few weeks later, I got a message. No words, just a screenshot of a puppy name generator and a single question: “Which one do I get?”

Now, my dog’s little legacy is running around a vet student’s apartment, probably causing chaos. And I couldn’t think of a more perfect ending...