00:00Millie has to be touching me 24-7.
00:03Ever since the day she came home, she was glued to my chest.
00:09And it's been like that ever since.
00:11She's a dog that likes to be in your presence and touching you.
00:15She really likes that physical comfort.
00:21She just always loves to be cuddled up and that secure attachment for her.
00:26Although I've always gotten to experience the sweet and sensitive side of Millie,
00:29there was a time where she was really reactive,
00:31and a lot of people didn't understand that sweetness to her.
00:34When I first learned that she was reactive, I felt a lot of responsibility.
00:40Not only because she's a reactive dog and they get a bad reputation,
00:43but also because of how she looks.
00:47There's a lot of duty to having a bully breed.
00:50Though I felt overwhelmed and sad a lot of the time,
00:53I really focused on the small wins that she was able to show me.
01:00If she was able to disengage from another dog really quickly,
01:03we celebrated those moments.
01:07A lot of the time, people will look at Millie without knowing anything about her
01:12and assume that she is going to hurt them or she's aggressive,
01:17when really that's not the case at all.
01:19And with the reactive behaviors, that kind of adds on to those assumptions that people make,
01:25which is actually incredibly harmful for the breed and reactive dogs.
01:30What I do when I see another reactive dog on the street is that I give them subtle acknowledgement
01:35by smiling, giving them more space, or even telling them that their dog is cute,
01:40just so that they know that I'm a safe person.
01:43Most pet parents are doing the best that they absolutely can,
01:46so we just have to support them.
01:48Millie has really shown me what it means to be empathetic.
01:54We've just developed this incredibly deep bond,
01:57and this understanding, and this trust.
01:59I just love her so much.
Comments