Time Is All We Get
I never know what to say when someone loses their dog. While I feel confident in my condolences after people are gone, there’s something particularly heartbreaking about losing a pet. It’s because our animals give us something that humans don’t always know how to: quiet companionship and unconditional love.
While humans are so fallible, pets are perfection. Their quiet companionship fills our space with noises that console and entertain. The sound of a big sigh. Tiny snores during their afternoon nap while you take that team call. Moving to that spot in between your legs while you’re sleeping. Streeeetch. All while admiring and loving us unconditionally (but especially when there’s food).
As I traveled to Colorado to spend the weekend with my pups, I was so worried about how much time I was taking off work and feeling behind. I kept myself up late at night and early in the morning days prior telling myself it was all too much – the time, the expenses. The second I heard their whimpers from the cracked back window as they realized I was home to see them, nothing else mattered to me.
A day later, I heard that someone I know lost 3 of their senior dogs within a matter of weeks. I couldn’t imagine walking into the silence of a home with no dogs at the door and still holding myself together. It made my worries feel small to think someday I wouldn’t hear my own dogs cry with glee when I arrived.
As much as bad things have happened at work, there’s a game plan and a fix that becomes clear at some point. Something to do. In the big emotional stuff, it’s not always so clear how we move forward. Dogs are special in that way. They know the value of just being with us. They know how to be our silent, supportive best friends that never leave our side.
Dogs teach us that time is all we get. You can earn money and plan vacations. You can find a tool or team online to do just about anything for you. But you can’t buy time to rest, time to just be with the dogs that make us feel more like ourselves, or time to remember that time is all we get.
Kat Kibben View All →
Kat Kibben [they/them] is a keynote speaker, writing expert, and LGBTQIA+ advocate who teaches hiring teams how to write inclusive job postings that will get the right person to apply faster.
Before founding Three Ears Media, Katrina was a CMO, Technical Copywriter, and Managing Editor for leading companies like Monster, Care.com, and Randstad Worldwide. With 15+ years of recruitment marketing and training experience, Katrina knows how to turn talented recruiting teams into talented writers who write for people, not about work.
Today, Katrina is frequently featured as an HR and recruiting expert in publications like The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. They’ve been named to numerous lists, including LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Job Search & Careers. When not speaking, writing, or training, you’ll find Katrina traveling the country in their van or spending some much needed downtime with the dogs that inspired the name Three Ears Media.
So poignant. I lost my dog Chewbacca (Chewy), a chocolate lab, over 7 years ago and I still imagine I hear him at night moving around or snoring. I miss that dog something fierce.
I lost my cat, Finnegan, a few months ago, and lost his brother, Husker, about one year before. I was lucky to have them in my life for over 16 years. Thank you for writing this, I know I will have more animals in my life soon, because they make everything better and remind me to enjoy the little things.