Boo Boo the Barking Blogster
Hello there uprights, it’s me, Boo Boo the Barking Blogster. I’m back to share my canine companion wisdom to our humans whom we love and depend upon. I’m sure most of you have heard that there are many health benefits of pet ownership. I will get into those benefits in future blogs but wanted to cover the elephant in the room first: before you decide to welcome a pet into your life, are you really ready to commit fully to us? For the rest of your life, for better or for worse, til death do us part? Apologies for the heavy topic but hey, our lives depend on it. Seriously consider if pet ownership is right for you before you visit a shelter. I know first hand how we can turn on the charm with our wagging tails, attentive eyes and enthusiastic greetings. Unfortunately, many well meaning humans fall in love with us and then over time decide that they don’t want the responsibility. Let’s review some key considerations before you visit an animal shelter.
The American Humane Association (AHA) has many great materials to help you in your soul searching, some questions they ask you to consider:
- Have you thought about how a pet will be completely dependent on you for his or her entire life?
- What will happen if you decide to move?
- And have you considered whether your lifestyle and personality would make you a better dog owner or cat owner?”
The AHA also asks that you think about what life events you’ll face in the next 12-20 years because with good care, a lifespan of a dog is about 12 to 15 years and a cat is 15 to 20 years. So before you adopt a pet, it is important to consider your own life over the next 15 to 20 years. The AHA asks:
- What major changes might happen to you during a pet’s lifetime? Marriage? Children? New job? Long-distance move? Are you willing to continue spending the time, energy and money to care for your pet when taking on new responsibilities like those?
- What will you do if your spouse or child is allergic to or cannot get along with your pet?
- If you’re getting a pet for children you have now, are you willing to take on the responsibility of caring for this pet when your children grow up, lose interest or move away?
- Have you previously owned a pet that died prematurely due to a preventable accident or illness, such as being hit by a car or suffering from heartworm disease? If so, what will you do differently with a new pet to prevent the same thing from happening again?
Speaking from my experience, canines have huge hearts and fall in love very quickly and stay totally committed. I know it’s not very macho, but I really love my mommy and daddy. My unconditional love is so deep that I feel sick when I’m away from them. So consider how tragic it is for the poochies and kitties that get taken home, fall in love and then they get abandoned. There are tons of health benefits to adopting us but if you are not fully committed and ready, really it is not doing your or the pet any good. So consider carefully my friends. (I promise that my next topic will show my lighter more fun, loving side.)
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