SAM’S CORNER: Life as a loving dog mom has its demands

Hey Wildcat fans!

I had a request from my last column to talk about my life as a dog mom. For those of you that may not know, I have a one-year old pup named Proxy. She is a boxer/pit mix but she is really just a mutt. I took a DNA test on her and she is 22% pit and 19% boxer and the rest is all a mess.

I got her during COVID because what else was there to do!? I have always wanted a dog but never thought I would get one in college. I figured since I am in grad school and rarely have classes I could manage. I also live with a non-athlete so when we travel I will have someone to watch her. I do not recommend getting a dog in college unless you have a plan and love dogs.

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My day as a dog mom consists of waking up and taking her out ASAP. The most annoying thing is cleaning up a dog’s mess. I usually head to the gym around 10 a.m., so before I leave, I will take her out again. While I’m at the gym, my roommate will let her out until I get home. Once I get home around 4:45 p.m., I run inside and grab Proxy to take her to the dog park. Luckily, Simone on the volleyball team goes at the same time as me so I have a friend to chit chat with.

We usually stay for an hour before we go home. Once I’m home, then I just chill with her and get some work done. I try and have about twenty minutes of playtime with her in the house to get her tired before bed. However, it never works! Every night between 3-4 a.m., she will wake me up and ask to go outside and play some more.

I am hoping to break her out of this habit so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know!

Sam Thomas is a senior leader with Adia Barnes’ program returning for her fifth season in 2021-22 as granted by the NCAA because of last season impacted by COVID-19 protocol. She has agreed to write a weekly column at AllSportsTucson.com. Her honors at Arizona include:

2021 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
2021 CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American
Elite 90 Award Winner
2021 All-Pac-12
2020 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
2020 & 2021 Pac-12 All-Defense
2020 & 2021 Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll
2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team
2019 Pac-12 All-Academic First Team
2018 Pac-12 All-Freshman
2018 Arizona Athletics Female Freshman of the Year