Sacrifices

The one where I get real about what it means to bring a pet into your home.

The neighbors in the house catty corner to ours have never been on my list of favorite people. They've never actually done anything to us, but they have an outdoor cat that uses our beautiful catmint bed as its personal toilet and then sleeps on our patio, which drives the dogs nuts. Not cool, neighbor people.

But things changed during the pandemic. What happened? They brought home a dog. An adorable beagle named Minnie. I know her name because the owner regularly screamed at her to stop barking. And she did bark a lot. Every time I took the dogs for a walk, Minnie barked. Every time I had the dogs out in the yard to do their business and Minnie could see us, she barked. Even if she was inside their house and was able to see us or hear us, she barked. They tried a bark collar on her and she managed to bark through that. The girl was dedicated.

The owner was constantly apologizing for her behavior. I explained that I was a dog person and that Minnie was just behaving like she was supposed to, and she owed us no apologies for that. I did my best to make her see that Minnie's quirks were things she could deal with. It didn't matter. I could tell she was mortified every time Minnie opened up her snout. I remember telling a friend that I feared Minnie would be gone one day.

Well, that day arrived. I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but as I was coming out of my new-demon-dog-plus-injury funk, it occurred to me that I hadn't seen or heard Minnie for a few days. So I made it a point to watch the house to see if I'd just become immune to her sounds. Nope. She was gone. And now those neighbors are back on my list. The bad list.

I know this has been said a number of times, and there are memes galore out there in social media land, but I think it bears repeating: pets are not disposable. They require a lifetime commitment and, yes, many sacrifices on your part. Please, please, please take that to heart before you go out and bring home an adorable fuzzy face. What kind of sacrifices? Let's take a look!

You cannot leave the house.

A new puppy is going to require basically all of your time for at least the first three months of its life. Maybe longer, depending on the breed. That means that you can't go out to dinner at the fancy new hot dog place in town. If you happen to have season tickets to, say, Ohio State Buckeyes football games, you will have to sell them. Maybe your one dream was to see The Rolling Stones live and in concert. You can go ahead and forget about that right now. List those tickets on StubHub, because you're not using them (SAD!). Hamilton tickets going on sale and you have an early access code? Delete that email because, no, you can't be in the room where it happens. Yes, it sucks, but you made the commitment.

They're going to cost a lot of money.

Even if your pet was free, it costs money to give it the care it requires. Sometimes a lot of money. Vaccines and license fees add up. Spaying and neutering is also fairly expensive, although neutering is slightly cheaper. Because of where we live, I have to give flea, tick, and heartworm medications every month. I spend around $300 a year for my two small dogs. I shudder to think what Pike's meds are going to cost when he's at full size. Depending on the breed and any genetic issues it might be predisposed to have, you might want to consider getting a pet insurance policy to help cover any possible medical bills you could encounter. Mine run me around $100 each month per dog. Yeah, not a misprint. Is your dog a purebred? Your breeder might want you to register it with the AKC or CKC in order to protect the lineage. And the best way to keep your dog healthy and out of the vet's office is by feeding a good diet. That can run hundreds of dollars each month. Yes, it sucks, but you made the commitment.

You can't take that vacation.

There's some wiggle room here, but it's very difficult to travel with a pet, depending on where you're going and how you plan to get there. Even pet-friendly hotels often have a size limit requirement, and you may be relegated to the older rooms that haven't been remodeled or updated. If your pet is on the large size, it will generally have to be checked in as cargo when flying. The other option is to find a good petsitter or a good kennel. Neither of those options are cheap, though. And trying to find a reliable place or person that you trust can give you a bad case of heartburn. Yes, it sucks, but you made the commitment.

You can't have nice things.

All of the rugs in my house are made of polypropylene so they're easier to clean after accidents. No thick, plush carpet for these toes, I'm afraid. My hardwood floors are scratched and dented, but I'm not refinishing them until this newest kid is completely trained. Maybe by then I won't even care. Maybe I can convince myself that they're just really rustic and vintage. We'll see. I have waterproof blankets (nice, fancy fur waterproof blankets, but still blankets) on my living room furniture to prevent damage from accidents and smells from licking. My once beautiful dining room is home to three crates and a large section of waterproof floor tile mats. We're now using the space to hold obedience training sessions. There are baby gates across every downstairs doorway. I have random sections of wood trim that are marred by dog teeth. No, you don't have to go to this extent, but I'd rather have a home that's dog-friendly than be a person who gets upset by dogs being dogs. Yes, it sucks, but I made the commitment.

If you've made it this far and think that those sacrifices all sound reasonable if it means you get the love and companionship of a furry best friend out of it, then congratulations. I like the cut of your jib. However, it doesn't end there. You have to research the breed you're considering and then research some more on top of that. Even if it's a mixed breed. ESPECIALLY if it's a mixed breed. Research the temperament and attributes of the dogs that went into the making of the mutt. What are the exercise requirements? Do they shed? Do they require grooming? Are they good around kids or other people? Are they prone to separation anxiety? Does it have a long tail that could knock a glass of wine off of the coffee table? You cannot choose a pet because you like how they look. Well, I mean, you absolutely can do that, and you might get lucky. But you might bite off more than you can chew. And that's not fair to you or to your new furry bestie. Shelters are filled with pets obtained because someone had to have the dog from that movie or TV commercial. Don't be that person, okay? If you've done your research and are still convinced that a fur kid is the right choice for you, go for it. Reach for the stars and make your dreams come true. I'm not someone who will lecture you about adopting. To me, that's just such a silly argument to have. We did an insane amount of research for each of ours, including taking quizzes to find breeds that matched with our needs and lifestyle, and knew what we wanted. That required using a breeder each time, and I'm fine with that. You need to do what's right for you so that you're happy and can be totally committed to your decision.

Okay, I'm hopping off of my soapbox now. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. I hope it's been helpful.

Take care and peace out until next time.