Quote:
Originally Posted by fdpaq0580
Dear OP,
I have been a pet owner for much of my life. This said, I have a different point of view. As a retired person your life is pretty much your own now. As said earlier, adopt a pet is like being a parent. Your life will no longer be yours. Your "child" cannot take care of itself. You must schedule your life to fit the needs of your "child". Human children take on certain things on their own (exercise, getting food, etc) which "fur babies" can't do on their own. In fact, in many ways pet owners aren't like parents at all. They are more like care givers for challenged or elderly individuals. You may love your pet, but, unlike a human child, you will never see them grow up and become self-sufficient, productive adults. They go from baby, to young child, to old and elderly.
Now, you are retired. Free! Your time is yours. Do you really want to be 24/7/365 caretaker and watchman, making the rounds, punching the clocks, and paying for the "privilege", financially and emotionally?
As said, I was a pet owner and I lived and loved my pets and would do whatever was needed for them. But now they are gone and I am free. Breakfast happens when I want it. I don't need to leave early to take someone for "walkies". Doctor visits are for me, not the cat/dog(s). And I don't have to carry poop bags for someone else.
OP, think. Do you really want or need that pet? Really?
Good luck! And don't let the pet addicted make you feel guilty if you "just say No" to pet ownership.
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That is an excellent and helpful post. I would like to make just one teeny, tiny comment, about feeding. If you feed dogs dry dog food, they will SELF-REGULATE and never overeat. You put down a BIG bowl and it would last them ....say one week. Plus have a bowl of water available. Then you only have to walk them and take them to the Vet.
........ I would fill up their bowl sometime when they were sleeping or otherwise occupied. If you feed them daily, they get all excited and can jump up and spill the bowl. I would never feed them "people food" like cookies and cake and other scraps .....they will eat it, but then they get a weight problem. I have seen many dogs around The Villages with weight problems, so I imagine that they are getting too many treats and "people food". Many people seem to feel that the dog or cat loves them because they get fed . I have found that their home environment and having a "MASTER" seems more important to me.
......I think that many people LOVE their pets into obesity with unhealthy (for them) treats. The fact that dogs will eat candy doesn't mean that they should be given candy. Sorry, I may have gotten into RANT mode.