Quote:
Originally posted by James
Random question: When does your inability to spend time with a pet effect whether you should get a pet or what type of pet you should get?
I mean, lets say you work and live alone so your pet has to be by itself for say around ten hours. Is that good for a dog? Is that ok for a cat? You don't crate cats right?
I know most of us think: We want a pet, and then force the critter into our lifestyle, but I was wondering what our responsibility to the pet was.
I guess the person that can spend more time with a pet, or has more people in the household to spend time with the pet, is in fact a better owner? Because they can fufill the pets needs better?
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I think your lifestyle definately should determine what kind of pet you get. For instance, I really wanted a dog. However, I'm at the hospital 12-14 hours a day ( a shift actually)-and I live 40 minutes from work, so it's not like I can just run home at lunch and let a dog out. My husband is gone for about 8-9 hours a day, and he's not that close to home either. I would never buy a dog, and make him sit inside in a crate for that amount of time-I'd feel too badly about it. ( Not saying crating is bad, I'm saying I would feel bad leaving an animal in a crate for that long).
So, we have 2 cats-they're fairly self sufficient, have run of the house, and have food and water sitting out for them when they need it.
I don't know that I'm not a better owner for pets than someone who is home all day-or a worse owner at that-I just realized what my limitations are, and what kind of animal fits into my life.
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