…a Tale in Four Parts.

Its time to document the Dogs or Dollars journey. As opposed to blogging when all this really happened, like I should have, circumstance now require a little back story. How I got here is a long and sordid tale. Well mostly long, but there are some pivotal points. Four of them actually. 

Part I: The Layoff 

This blog really should have started in June 2008. That’s when the whole Dogs or Dollars question formed, by way of a layoff announcement. 

If you’d asked me then what my chances of getting laid off were, I’d of said, slim to nil.  Up until that time, I’d had a steady well-paid corporate IT gig, since I was 18 years old. While not a job I enjoyed, I experienced moderate success at it. I was an integral part of my team, and proud of it. 

Because of this; the success, the youth, the just always had, my job was something I took it for granted. I hadn’t worked for minimum wage for a very long time. I had spent many years taking 2 hour lunches and sitting in comfy computer chairs.  I dropped out of college to pursue this line of work. It is not a decision I regret, but I always anticipated I would go back to school or end up somewhere else. That this ‘career’ was somehow temporary.

Yet, there I sat. Stuck. All through my 20′s I built a life dependent on those big paychecks. I acquired a house, a pack of mutts, took some expensive vacations, and pretty much purchased what I wanted, without much concern.

In retrospect, the lay-off was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Up until this time, layoffs in my industry were few and far between. I had always secretly hoped for one. It would be my Deus ex Machina. My golden parachute. My way out of a life I just sort of slipped into. My excuse to do something different. I’d take my severance package and run, run, run to the life I should have had.

Wished for or not, when the news came it was unexpected. And the circumstances strange. I wasn’t being ‘laid-off’ per say. Rather my job was being out-sourced to another company. I was offered a job with that company, or I could opt to take my severance package. 

Being familiar with the outsource company, I had absolutely zero interest in accepting their position. My severance package was 6 weeks of pay for the first year of employment, then 1 month for every year beyond that. For me that meant 3-1/2 months of pay. Plus, my vacation pay out. A hefty sum to turn down. 

At the time, the job market was robust. My own management was making a lot of noise about bringing me back as a contractor. I thought my chances of landing on my feet were good. Worst case scenario, I would hang out at home for a few months, which didn’t sound very ‘worst’ at all.

As of November 1, 2008 I was no longer a corporate citizen. 

I didn’t try too terribly hard to even look for a job until after the New Year. By too terribly hard, I mean pretty much at all. I can’t say that I did anything great with that time. I should have, but mostly I was lazy. I surfed the internet and tinkered with my resume. 

Financially speaking, we were in good shape. I banked the vast majority of my severance package, using a small portion to fund our holidays. All told, I saved almost 30K. I paid off The Husbands car, our only non-mortgage debt. Except for the big fat Mortgage. The Husband was working. I had unemployment, and I promptly went out and got myself a part-time job. At a pet store. 

Pssst! This is the Dogs part of the equation. 

The lay-off had brought forth this choice. The idea that I could actually do something different with my life and how I spent my time. That maybe I didn’t need to make so much money, if I could do something I enjoyed. What a novel concept. 

I contacted the owner of the local high-end pet supply store where I’d been a customer for years, and asked for a job. She was happy to oblige. It was just Saturday’s and the odd fill in shift. At a whopping  $10/hour it wasn’t enough to impact my unemployment income. As a fringe benefit I got our pet supplies at deeply discounted rates. With the pack of mutts, this was more than a little helpful. 

See, I’ve always been a Pet Food Geek. Its a odd niche, I realize. I often refer to the Mutts, as an obligation, which they most certainly are. An obligation I enjoy. I grew up with dogs. I participated in dog 4-H as a youth. I’d trained dogs and fostered them. Dogs are my thing. What we feed dogs, and the products we use for them is an extension of that. I had always thought that talking to people about dogs all day would be awesome. I was right. 

I dove right into this gig. I’d never had a traditional Customer Service job before. I smiled. I rang people up. I stocked cans, and 30lb bags of food. Happily. My dog experience came in super handy, time and time again. At this little community based store, the customers took to me. I enjoyed it, and thoughts began to percolate. Well, they were already percolating. We started to get to a rolling boil. 

The owner was looking for a store manager. 

But… (lots of buts at this point)

How could I willingly accept such a pay cut? This job would pay about 1/3 of what my old job paid. 

Could we survive on that little money? 

Was this what I really wanted to do? 

Could I bring myself to do it?

Stay tuned for Part II: The Leap