Oliver Queen

Dogs are ubiquitous in U.S. society. They provide companionship, protection, and care. They are in homes, law enforcement agencies, and the military. However, their primary role is one of family pet. Dogs are viewed by some as merely animals and by others as family. This autoethnographic work details the rescue of a greyhound at the height of the COVID pandemic as a means of overcoming the anxiety and panic attacks triggered by the experiences of working in an academic environment fully immersed in the practices and ideologies of neoliberalism. This essay is the story of my journey to the discovery of self-acceptance and the value of unconditional love to contradict the transactional relationships that I had come to accept as normal in the neoliberal academy. This realization was instrumental in allowing me to have a greater awareness of a larger reality, one outside the brick and wrought iron gates of the university and that has allowed me to not just appreciate contentment, simplicity, and myself, but also a sense of pride and self-worth.