Feature Writer Steven Famiglietti – Daily Life with Joel: Creating a Routine
Now that the training with Kathy is complete, it is time to get back to my usual life. This means I need to be more aware of staying on a consistent schedule for Joel and me. While it took some planning, I think I’ve designed a system that should work well for both of us.
Each week day, I wake up at 6:00 AM to feed Joel his breakfast. After he finishes eating, I take him out to go to the bathroom. Once that is complete, I come in and do some exercise on my elliptical machine, take my shower, and get dressed for work. Finally, I get Joel ready for his day by doing some obedience exercises with him and then get him into his harness.
Once outside, we have the option of taking a variety of walks before we head down to the office. Joel is easily bored if I do the same route over and over again, so I like to mix it up to keep his interest. I have a 10, 20, 30, or 40 minute route that we can do, depending on how much time we have and the current weather conditions.
Once we arrive at the office, I give Joel another opportunity to relieve himself after he’s gotten his morning exercise. Then, we enter the building and make our way to my office. While I work, Joel lies on his bed and enjoys sleeping peacefully. He is a little over 2 years old, but he sure loves his time in the office sleeping each day. If I am teaching a class, he sleeps as I teach. If I am working at my desk, he sleeps while I’m working at the computer. Sometimes, I look over at him and it causes me to lose my motivation, because I wouldn’t mind taking a nap, either.
After we leave work, we head to the apartment and I give Joel his evening dinner. As he is eating, I prepare my own dinner and catch the evening news. Usually around 6:00 PM, we will do a second outdoor walk. This one is usually longer than the morning one because there is more time available. Normally, we just do a typical walk, but sometimes, we will walk and stop into CVS so that I can pick up some personal care items or snacks. All of the staff in CVS seems to love our visits.
At the end of our day, I give Joel his bone and brush his coat, so that it stays clean and fresh for the future. He sheds quite a bit, so I have to run my vacuum cleaner much more often than I did with my other two dogs. I usually go to bed around 10:00 PM and Joel likes to lie on the floor on his bed located next to mine.
This is more or less our new daily routine during the week and we both seem to have grown accustomed to it pretty quick.