Anonymous asked: Greetings, Your extraterrestrial majesty! I wanted to ask you about your dogs c: what breed is micron? How many dogs do you own? What would you want to tell a first-time dog owner?

Hello to you, prospective canine-caretaker! Micron is a chihuahua mystery-mix. My guess is there is a bit of rat terrier and dachshund in there, but a guess is all it is. She is my only dog, though my current roommate has two large pitbull-and-stuff mixes. Micron’s been treated as part of their “pack” since about two months into our moving in.

In general, preparing to adopt a dog is a lot like preparing for the arrival of a child. You have to dog-proof your house and permanently alter your routine, making room for regular walks and play-time in your schedule. Dogs are highly social creatures and when you take a dog into your home, you become the equivalent of its pack, so your dog will look to you for more than food and shelter - it will look to you for guidance, companionship, and love.

This sort of goes without saying, but be sure you can afford decent dog food, vet visits, and the occasional dog sitter, too.

Of course I suggest that you get your dog from a shelter or a rescue, never a pet store. Spend as much time as you can with the animal so you get a sense of its personality. If you plan to adopt a puppy and have no animal-training experience, getting a small or medium dog as your first might be the way to go. Don’t put yourself, others, and your pet in danger by getting a large dog you can’t physically contain or verbally control.

If your heart is set on a larger dog and you plan to adopt it as a puppy, be prepared to dedicate significant amounts of time, daily, to its training for the first year of the dog’s life. Of course, you should be prepared for this regardless of the dog’s size, but it’s imperative with larger breeds.

I love having a smaller dog because I can clip her nails and brush her teeth myself, bathe her in the sink and easily take her places if need be. Also: small poops. This does not mean large dogs are not awesome pets, just that a small dog is all I have time for. I grew up with large and medium dogs as pets, and loved every second.

I hope this helped a bit!