I was pushed…

Oh the synchronicities of the universe.

Today I was out kayaking with my Mom when she pointed out the scar on my knee. The synchronicity is that my blog posts are scheduled out 12 weeks and the cause of that scar is my scheduled topic today. It was the fall that changed my life, and brought me to where I am now.

I like to joke that the universe pushed me because I wasn’t listening. The signs were there but I was reading them wrong, that’s when the universe intervened and said “Nah, bitch, not that way…” That fall, changed the entire trajectory of my life, and I’m ultimately so grateful.

The fall came in April, 2025 just three days after the grand opening of my expansion to a brick and mortar after years of running a mobile dog business. I was doing last outs for my home boarding dogs when I tripped on the too long, extra wide, flare leg yoga pants I was wearing and I came crashing down the few remaining stairs to our basement which was a converted dog area. I was holding a small dog going down the stairs which left me no free hands to catch myself landing my body weight on the center of my left knee cap. I landed, managed to release the dog safely to the ground floor before falling over onto the last few steps. Pain shot through my leg, I scanned my body to assess the damage and see what I could move. My now terrified, then Husband stands at the top of the stairs in shock having just scared him right out of bed with the sound of me crashing down the stairs.

Nothing felt broken so I started my crawl up the basement stairs, unable to use that leg. Trying to decide if a hospital trip was necessary I started crawling to my bedroom to reassess in comfort when I tipped forward and faceplanted on the tile floor. It was then I flipped over to really look at the knee. It was disgusting, and very open. I knew then I couldn’t home care this one away, and an ER trip was necessary. The ER confirmed that nothing was broken, they sent me home with three stitches, gave me instructions to stay off it with a new pair of crutches.

When we returned home my then husband helped me rearrange the dog boarding situation so that I could care for everyone on the same floor and could avoid the stairs until the pups went home. The following day he went to work, and I got to work looking after the dogs. The thing about working in the pet industry, especially small operations run alone, is that it quite literally doesn’t matter how you are feeling the animals will always need care first. So care I did. I worked out a new system since I was now unable to move with the dogs like I could when I was crutchless.

Not all the dogs I cared for could be out together at the same time due to a variety of temperaments, preferences, and comfortability. Due to this the dogs were accustomed to a rotation system already. By the time I would get a “round” in for each dog, I was exhausted. The time I would normally give to the daycare dogs I would have on a regular day became my opportunity for rest. I napped, I iced my leg, I contemplated how we would survive with me off my feet and then I’d get back up to do the next round of outs, exercise, and attention. Then crawl back into bed. And Repeat.

At the time of my fall I had 8 dogs in my home that required my care. This lasted for 4 days before dogs started to go back home, none refilling their spaces as they left, due to my injury and the now canceled bookings and daycare. I got creative and made the job easier on myself by way of rollie chair and a rolling cart that helped me bring all my things around with a break from the crutches, which I was terrible and clumsy with. To my surprise though, the dogs all adjusted so well to the crutches and made my life and job so much easier.

As I observed my boarders I started to realize something about their general behavior as the days went on. The more we all settled into new routines, the happier and less stressed they became. I’ve spent hours going over the details of the their stay to see what changed in their environment, routine, schedule to make this shift but ALL of them were observably much more relaxed, and at peace throughout their stay. I came to the conclusion that the less coming and going and constant movement they had been used to was allowing them much more calmness to settle.

The extra dogs started going back home and my house started getting quieter and quieter until only my two remained. It started to dawn on me then, just how fucking tired I was, now that I wasn’t moving, wasn’t working. It was in that small discovery I saw the real problems I was facing.