Field Notes with Gabby Phi: Adopting a dog in your twenties
The Austinite on separation anxiety, social life, and accidentally stumbling into dog life.
Gabby Phi is an Austin-based creative and co-founder of Ganbei Gals, a digital and IRL community that celebrates Asian American nostalgia in the most universal way they know how: food. She’s also a devoted dog mom in the city of dogs (Austin) (nickname in progress, let it warm up to you), a decision she made both impulsively and meticulously at the tender age of 23.
Now, some years later, Gabby and Willy are living their best life together—partners to every degree. Ahead of Willy’s eighth birthday, we sat down with Gabby to recount their meetcute and the growing pains that brought them here.
Let’s get right into it. Tell me about Willy!
Okay! My dog is Willy, he’s eight in January. When I got him we did DNA tests because he’s a rescue pup—he’s mostly Chihuahua with some parts miniature schnauzer, Australian shepherd, terrier mixes, and Pekingnese (which is really random). He’s a bit of a sausage, that’s what I call him.
Willy’s a small breed dog, and then my parents have two dogs: Otis, who’s a basset hound-rat terrier mix, and Daisy, who’s also a rescue pup. They’re both larger dogs, around 45–50 pounds.
How did you come to adopt Willy?
I was living in Austin, just graduated from college, and living on my own for the first time. My sister was over at my apartment one day and randomly wanted to go look at dogs, because why not? We went to a local store that happened to be having an adoption day—I saw Willy there and instantly gravitated toward him because he kind of looked like a mini version of Otis, one of our family dogs. We played with him for a few minutes and immediately fell in love.
Were you expecting to adopt that day?
Not at all. At first I was immediately like, oh my God I can't do this. I’ve just moved into my new place on my own, I don’t know if it's responsible to adopt a dog. I slept on it overnight, thought about it all day at work, got opinions from everyone I knew. The second I went to go play with him again though, I had my answer.
And now it’s been how long?
He was three when I got him and it’s been almost six years now. I have no regrets.
Why did you want a dog in the first place? What made you realize you were ready?
I think I’ve just always liked taking care of things. And I was already living alone in a house with a backyard and thought company would be nice—and it is, for sure.
So you’re 23, freshly out of college, new dog mom. Were there any surprises about new dog life?
The separation anxiety. Willy had a lot of it, probably just because it was a new place and he was young. So for the first month or two, I came home from work every day at lunch to hang out with him, which was a lot on me.
Willy’s anxiety would make him kind of disruptive, like knocking over the trash can or ripping things that were left out. He’s definitely grown out of that over the years, partly because he learned coping mechanisms and partly because he’s just grown. He's very, very chill now.
What helped him get over the separation anxiety?
He loves his crate, having toys in there and a blanket over the top. I think he likes the darkness and that sense of safety. So now he’ll just go into his crate to hang out sometimes if he’s feeling anxious.
CBD has been really helpful too, I have dog-safe droplets that I drop in his food. It’s funny because I take CBD too, so it’s like mother like son.
What about your social life? Was there any impact?
I think I just learned to be more responsible, like knowing I have an end time to get home. But it is nice sometimes to have a built-in excuse when you want to leave—which always ends up worth it because I get to come home to Willy.
What's Willy's personality like?
He's so funny, like the annoying little brother. He's very yappy and barks all the time at everything: people, the door, people on bikes, cars. Australian shepherds are breeding and hunting dogs, so he loves a good chase. But he’s also a mama’s boy who loves a good cuddle and to chill on the couch after a long day.
What’s your daily routine look like, six years later?
I’ve come to be a morning person, so I'll get up around seven or so. Willy and I will go on a walk around the neighborhood, come home, and have breakfast together. I’m lucky to work from home, so he’ll chill near my desk or couch and I’ll take lots of breaks to play with him.
In the evening, we'll usually walk again, maybe take a nap. He loves sleeping in bed with me and my partner even though he has his own bed. It's like, why would I sleep on that when I can just sleep with mom and dad?
Willy’s brothers and sisters, your other family dogs, live with your parents. How is his relationship with them?
He loves them, especially Otis because he’s our OG family dog. They get along great because Otis is really chill, so he knows when to play and when to give Willy some space. Even though Otis is a big dog, they complement each other well.
On the other hand, we just got Daisy a couple of years ago! She’s the exact opposite of Otis, Daisy will want to bother you non-stop. Sometimes she can get a little territorial with toys too, so they spend less time together. They all love each other, their relationships just look different.
What are some things you’ve had on your mind recently regarding Willy?
Well, he’s eight now, so basically middle aged. I’m thinking about his joints, his back, his hair as he grays—we want to be as preventative as possible since he’s a smaller dog. But he’s still spry and young and high energy. He may act like an older dog sometimes, but he’s still Willy.
