Wrong reasons to get a pet. As a reward is one I heard this weekend.
By writersedge
@writersedge (22563)
United States
March 30, 2009 6:47am CST
I want to get my little girl (looked two or three years old)a pet as a reward for doing what I told her to do for two weeks.
I'm thinking, get her a stuffed animal.
"We don't have much time for a pet. I want an easy and not much time needed pet." She already had a pet and a baby besides this child. I'm still thinking stuffed animal, aren't you?
Easter is coming and the dumb reasons to buy a pet will be coming out right and left. "It's Easter, let's get a bunny." "It's Easter, let's get baby chicks." Buy a stuffed bunny or a stuffed baby chick. I do. That's what my adult family members get (people think I'm nuts because we still have Easter baskets). Better that than people raising animals without a clue.
2 people like this
3 responses
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
27 Apr 09
Oh I hate that one. At the guinea pig rescue I volunteer for we get a lot of parents who want to reward their kids with pets. "Well they wanted a pet all year and now they got straight A's, I think this proves they are responsible." Umm no, not really. And then when we ask them what they'll do with the pets when the child gets bored they just tell us that the kid really wants them and won't get bored. Yeah, like that kid won't get bored within 5-8 years? Just why do they think we have to rescue these pets from the shelters in the first place?
It's great if parents want the pets and just happen to also have kids who like them. But it doesn't work out if only the kids like the pets. Best case scenario the pets would be cared for if the kid really never lost interest, but as soon as the pets go to the vet you just can't expect a child to pay for that. Worst case they end up neglected and dying in the child's room.
1 person likes this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
28 Apr 09
Straight As means the kid is book smart, has nothing to do with being good with animals. Guinea pig rescue, I had not heard of them, but nothing surprizes me any more. I like the parents that say, "We're not getting a gerbil because it looks like a mouse and the cat will eat it." "But Mom, I'll keep the cat and gerbil apart." "You can't do that when you're in school and I'm not taking care of it. You have to learn the word, NO."
It's sad that a kid can't even take care of an animal for a few years, what about longer-living animals? If they can't take care of something for a few years, it's sad. People don't seem to be able to commit to anything any more. I like my cats, they bug me to feed them, pet them, etc. Can't ignore them, they won't let me. They make me a good pet owner.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
4 May 09
Yes, if they people want to be with animals, but don't have more than an afternoon a week, volunteering makes way more sense. Many people and kids who can't have pets (apartment doesn't allow, parents won't let them, don't have much time, etc.) make very good volunteers. They learn a lot and if they get bored and quit, then only have to get new volunteers, not new homes or re-rescue.
@MysticTomatoes (1053)
• United States
20 Apr 09
Amen! And another reason that bothers the snot out of me is when people get "fad" pets. Paris Hilton has that little Taco Bell dog. When movies like Marley and Me and 101 Dalmations came out, people were rushing to get dalmations and labs. I bought the Marley DVD not too long ago and on part of the artwork on the inside is a message from the ASPCA about labs. They went on to explain that labs are destructive when bored, require a lot of energy and work and don't like to be alone a lot. They were basically telling people to STOP AND THINK about it before getting a pet just because you saw Jennifer Anniston on TV with one and she looked cute.
My DH and I had a lab when we first married. Bongo was an older dog when we got him and he passed away shortly before our daughter was born, but he was a handfull even in his advanced age.
When 101 Dalmations came out, that was the "fad dog." Then months later, shelters were FLOODED with dalmations. Dalmations are extremely high spirited and require more work than a lab. They are also destructive.
The smaller dogs like Paris's Taco Bell dog don't do well around children. Any time any celebrity gets a dog and starts posing with it, shelters are overcrowded after about a month or so with the dogs because of the fact that people don't research before getting a dog.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
21 Apr 09
What is it with the monkey see, monkey do-ness of people? If celebrities were jumping off bridges, bunches of people would line up.
Right now, I don't have a dog because I don't have the time to devote to one. I would get one when I retire. I would look for a "mellow retirement dog." One I could hang-out with. We've been very lucky with half lab, half German shepherd mixes-older dogs. Mostly because we give them plenty of space to run, and jobs to do. But with 3 part time jobs right now, I don't have the time. Not sure what I would have one do while gardening. Probably have an inside job for him or have him go running around the property while I did that. At any rate, it will have to be after my cat passes away. He likes to beat up dogs; he hates them. But whatever dog I get, he would have to be very, very mellow. Hyper dogs drive me crazy.
Amen to your statement about FAD dogs. Obama has a Portugese Water Dog. Hopefully there are so few that they won't be lining them up at the shelters. But some enterprizing breeders will be filling the void. I like the fact that they waited and researched before they got the job. That is a good example for others to follow, wonder if those two things were lost on the monkey people.
@Pigglies (9329)
• United States
27 Apr 09
He did kind of wait until after he got the job too, not that he couldn't have afforded one before.
Dr. Doolittle overwhelmed the guinea pig rescues and the rat rescues didn't like Ratatouille very much.
At least in Marley and Me that was a pretty realistic lab, super crazy and not a dog most people would want (I hope). But yeah, a lot of people will probably miss that. Personally I don't have time for a dog yet either, but when I do I want a mutt that will make a good hiking and exercise buddy.
@smacksman (6053)
•
30 Mar 09
I quite agree. With that attitude to pets it is just a few week away from finding the puppy abandoned on a highway.
Actually, with that attitude towards life in general they really shouldn't have kids either!
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
31 Mar 09
I like the last line! Maybe the parents should have opted for a stuffed animal instead of children! Thanks for making me smile, sometimes after I work with people for a long time, I need it. Take care.
1 person likes this
