The Fear of Being Too Perfectionist

I decided to adopt a dog. After years of debating and concluding that there was always a circumstance that didn’t quite feel right, I jumped the gun. There will always be imperfections, but for any dog a life with me will at least be a thousand times better than a life in a shelter.

I walked into the shelter and a fear of doubt fell over me. I got to meet 4 dogs and 3 of them were more interested in the pee and poo stains on the floor than in me. How can I decide which dog to adopt on an encounter of 5 minutes? This is a decision that is going to affect me for at least 10 years, and I got cold sweat.

I left the shelter feeling like a loser. The people in the shelter made me feel like my expectations are way too high, as if I shouldn’t be looking for that perfect, small, poo brown dog, but I should just take one home and “mold” it into the perfect dog.

At home I stared at my collection of shoes and realized that getting a dog is not much different from getting the perfect pair of heels.

Sure, they need to mold to your feet, but in the shop you pick the pair that you fall in love with. The pair that feels just right to you, before you even slip your feet into them.

The 4 dogs might all have been sweetheart, I didn’t fall in love with either of them. There was no need to check whether the dogs would “mold” into my life, because it wasn’t love at first sight. It might take ages to find that perfect dog, but I will not fear my perfectionism nor will I settle for less. I will poor my heart and soul in raising my dog and I am going to make sure that my poo brown dog will get the second chance he/she deserves and no shelter person will make me feel bad for it.