I feel like I’m projecting my sadness onto our family dog, Mochi. I raised him when he was a baby with my family when he was a baby and he’s now 4 in Taiwan. I visited him once a year for at least a month or more. I will just stay home and spend as much time with him as possible. I just got home 3 weeks ago and he was SO excited when he saw me. He even peed on me (oops).

I’m now absolutely dreading leaving him in 2 weeks and I know I’m prob going to visit home again next Christmas (which is more than a year). He sees me and my parents as core pack and it’s just killing me knowing he’ll be sad when I leave. My husband is coming from the US to Taiwan to visit too and we’re leaving together. Mochi also adores him.

I know mochi still loves my dad the most because he’s been taking care of him every day since I left (I’m the one walking and playing with him when I come home tho). They have also been sending him to doggy day care for at least once or twice a week to socialize since he was a pup so he has friends there whom he grew up with.

I’ve been so sad that I even thought about relocating him to the US (Taiwan to NYC) and I know it’s not the best for Mochi.. but only for my own selfishness because I’m most likely projecting my own sadness and attachment to Mochi.

I love Mochi very much and it hurts me every time visiting him and leaving him..

How do any of you cope with similar experiences?