Embracing Responsibility w/ Sarah Liss

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How Taking Care of a Dog Opened Up Sarah Liss To Becoming A Parent

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About The Episode

In the summer of 2008, Sarah Liss was in a rocky relationship while her city of Toronto, Canada, was having bad storms that season. She had previously owned dogs before, but she felt at that point a calling to adopt one again.

So her search began online for a dog and set her eyes on a dog who ended up going to another home, one more stable and secure. The rescue organization sent her another dog after, Harriet, who was not the dog that might usually catch your eye. “Harriet looked as though she’d been assembled from a collection of random dog parts. She was both exceptionally long and oddly barrel-chested. Her curly tail and abbreviated snout suggested she was part pug, but her proportions and prey drive betrayed some kind of terrier lineage. She had a beagle’s soulful, black-rimmed eyes, a German Shepherd’s mottled brown-black coloring, and the delicate splayed toes of a dainty lap dog. From certain angles, she looked like a squirrel; from others, an otter.”

Nonetheless, however, something about Harriet stood out to Sarah and she decided to go visit her and see for herself, in-person. There was a woman fostering her and some other dogs. When Sarah got out of the car, she was swarmed by a group of boxer puppies. Away from the crowd was Harriet, looking flustered by all the puppies around her and that she didn’t want to be around them anymore. That resonated with Sarah and she felt an overall connection enough to take Harriet home, right then and there. As they drove away, there was a storm of lightning and thunder – but Harriet was right there, sleeping away calmly in the backseat, no more worries left. It didn’t take long for Sarah to feel like this dog was meant to come in her life at that time and started a transformation within her.

Not long after getting her, Sarah found herself in a conversation with a colleague about how challenging it can often be to adopt from rescue organizations. That colleague had said she wanted kids and eventually got declined because of it (at least partially). But while Sarah hadn’t always had the best luck with adoption approvals, she didn’t have that problem as she had no interest in kids. That conversation later turned into a dog date at a park, where their dogs – Harriet and Lula – immediately bonded as well. Eventually, they all moved into a house together after about a year.

Sadly, at some point after that, Harriet took off on a walk with their dog walker and unfortunately had a fatal accident. It was a tough time for Sarah.

In the aftermath, it did bring her closer to her partner, Lisa, as they were the only ones who knew the exact pain of losing Harriet. At the same time, Sarah eventually came to realize in this process that she was a different person now. Even though she felt some guilt around the death, she realized that feeling of responsibility is part of life no matter what. She learned to not fight it, and accept it, more confident that she could handle it after experiencing it. She became more open to being responsible for a being in a different kind of way. Now, they have two kids and the sons are big dog fans, too.

About The Guest - Sarah Liss

Sarah Liss is a writer and editor. She is the author of the book Army of Lovers, a community history of the late artist and LGBTQ activist Will Munro. While she had always been against having kids, she became more ready and accepting of the challenge of parenthood after the transformative experience she had with her dog, Harriet. Currently, she lives in Toronto with her partner, Lisa, and their two sons and their other dog, Lula.

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