Today we went to the Humane Society on the way back home from an errand to Nana's house. Our kids usually say one of 4-5 things when we ask them, "Where do you want to go?" It's usually one of the following (in no particular order):
-"Old McDonalds" for French Fries
-Swimming or the park
-Bowling
-Grandparents' house
-The Pet Store
We don't personally have pets, because I have to be realistic at this season of my life and realize that a dog is like a baby that never grows up! Cath has two dogs, my parents have a dog and a cat, and all of them are greatly loved, but a lot of work to care for and train. "Wutties, you especially yous."
My kids LOVE animals. They want to hold them, and pet them, and kiss them, and crawl on
their backs for rides, and feed them food from their hand, and go visit other people's animals...
Take a look at Yaks with Cody on Easter. The kid cannot get enough!
So, in order to give my kids a pet "fix" without having to care for one ourselves, we take them to pet stores to "visit" other animals. After seeing Oprah and the story about Puppy Mills, we're now determined to visit animal shelters instead. It was fun. They greeted the bunny rabbits first, followed by the cats, who were sleeping soundly in their crates. Then we went back to the small dog kennels. The smell was a bit nauseating for me. I thought I was the only one, but Boo said, "It smells bad in here..." So, we went to the big dog kennels, and it was exercise time for the dogs (one at a time), and all the dogs left behind would bark like rabid beasts because they wanted to get out so bad. The loud barking was pretty scary for the kids, so back to the quiet sleeping kitties we went. There were some really friendly ones there. You know, the ones who practically bust down the door trying to get you to scratch their heads and cheeks?
Boo was visiting with one named Figaro, who had had enough visiting and took a swipe at Boo through the bars (I can't say as I blame any cat taking a swipe at anyone through the bars). I didn't see that she was injured anywhere, but she was sure sad that "that kitty hurt me!" She was totally shocked that the nice kitty would hurt her. We explained that sometimes animals need their space and like to be left alone, and that Figaro was one of those kitties. With tears rolling down her cheeks, we went to visit some more hospitable cats to leave it on a positive note. Oh, boy. Needless to say, we've all got a lot to learn before we become pet owners.
4 comments:
The Humane Society is the way to go for sure. We adopted both our cats there. I'm sad Boo had a bad kitty experience. She can come over any time for some kitty time.
I must admit, any time we go into the pet store/humane society I have to really remind myself that:1)No. I don't need ANOTHER dog
2)Yes. I would be the one taking care of it.
3)Yes. Meg would like it for a week and then change and say she wanted a cat (if we picked a dog), or a dog (if we got a cat).
I could easily walk out with a new family friend everytime if the reality wasn't there. So many choices. So many cute faces. I agree that the Humane Society is the way to go! Even if, for now, it is just petting through cages and then leaving.
Plus.. if you add up food/ vet bill for a year.. you have to want to be a pet owner to the tune of $1,500 per year according to a recent local news story.
In addition to that, if you're going to be a pet owner.. be a good one. We live in a nice neighborhood, but several of our neighbors allow their dogs out to poo on our lawn. (The city's walking path is also strewn with dog manure) We never have said anything to our neighbors.. what's the point.. but it doesn't endear them to us. We also hate when indoor pets are left outdoors while their owners are away. Our neighbors dog barks constantly from the time she leaves for work until the time she gets home. We both work at home and don't think that's OK.
We kind of feel like we signed up for pets when we really didn't.
I think to be a good pet owner is actually a whole lot more work than most people are really willing to do.
Oooh, good points, Loveboxes. Wow, that's a lot of money!! We've had or currently HAVE similar problems in our own neighborhood. I'm a bit more tolerant, but barking dogs drives my husband CRAZY. You've definitely got to be a responsible, considerate person to own a pet.
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