A dog mum has spoken out after quitting her job over her pet's separation anxiety.
All pup parents will know the feeling - the guilt as you leave your dog home alone to go to work, with them looking up at you expectedly as you put your coat on to leave.
You feel like the ultimate villain leaving them at home alone despite knowing they'll probably just sleep and be entertained by squirrels in the garden all day.
Unfortunately for Asha Dillon, her Cocker Spaniel puppy Romeo didn't settle down when she left for work.
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Instead, he'd whine, cry and tear up her furniture, which led her to decide to leave her job completely so she could be there for him.
Alongside showing signs of separation anxiety, Romeo also exhibited other behavioural issues, which included him cowering behind furniture during storms, howling and eating furniture and other objects lying around Asha's house.
The dog mum told FEMAIL she ultimately decided to give up her job in product development because she 'felt responsible for Romeo's destructive behaviour'.
She said: "We're millennials - our dogs are like our children and we want them to be as happy and comfortable as possible.
"A lot of the pets who were adopted during the pandemic - including Romeo - have developed intense bouts of separation anxiety.
"It's especially hard because you spent so much of your time at home during lockdown - and then you're just gone and your pet doesn't know how to live without you."
Asha resolved she had to 'do everything in [her] power to help him'.
Since quitting her job to spend more time with her pet, Asha has also gone on to start her own company.
The brand - Leadr Pet - creates 'clinically trialled' supplements using 'human-grade ingredients based on the latest scientific research' to make sure pets are 'as healthy as humanly possible'.
"All my friends and family started telling me about how dogs have issues just like we do - they have sensitive tummies, diarrhoea, IBS, joint problems, stress, anxiety," she explains.
Asha's brand creates supplements for pets in the form of chewy toy treats opposed to 'pills, powders and capsules' other companies use - supplements which Asha argues dogs 'just spit out and refuse to eat'.
And thankfully, with the help of her own brand's products, Romeo's separation anxiety and behavioural issues seem to have subsided too.
The dog mum reflects: "For Romeo, it was probably four days where I really saw his separation anxiety start to decrease and I was able to leave him home by himself for longer periods of time.
"He also stopped seeking things to chew, like expensive shoes - which is a sign he wasn’t suffering as much."
If you see an animal in distress and/or in need of help, contact the RSPCA's 24-hour animal cruelty line on 0300 1234 999 or visit their website for further advice. In the US, call SPCA on 212-244-SPCA (7722) Monday – Friday 9am-5pm EST or call 9111 if a crime is in progress.
Topics: Animals, Australia, Dog, Mental Health, Social media
Poppy Bilderbeck