This blog is all about the benefits that pets bring to children – and their families! So it was especially disheartening today to get a summary of a study done by the American Humane Assoc., and funded partially by Petsmart Charities, that surveyed people without pets on why they DON’T have a pet.
The top 3 reasons are: Lack of Time, Cost and projected Grief over a pet dying. I do understand lack of time, but pets relieve so much stress brought on by our constant self-talk that we are “so busy” – that it’s often worth setting aside time for a pet to slow life down a bit. And since I’ve mentioned the word “pet” several times already, there are many benefits from petting your cat, dog, horse or even bird! De-stressing is at the top of that list. (Making you laugh is up there too!) Using time for an excuse – is really an excuse. There are just too many rewards and benefits of having a pet that outweigh giving up a little time. Check our earlier post for 21 Reasons Kids Should Have A Pet (and lots of single reasons since then!).
Cost IS a consideration but may I mention a couple things when considering the cost of adopting a pet or having a critter that isn’t very expensive to start with. One is that if we adopt our pets from a shelter or rescue the cost of the pet itself is very affordable. The nutrition in today’s pet food is so superior that animals can thrive whether you choose basic food or the super-duper premium. When it comes to pet accessories like food dishes, toys, collars, etc. there are all kinds of different offerings. Dollar stores have pet departments now.You can find an option that fits your budget.
When you’re shopping for your pet they very seldom care about brand names. As fussy as cats are, I’m pretty sure they can’t tell the difference between a collar with rhinestones or diamonds. Pet’s don’t spend a lot of time checking out themselves or their accessories in a mirror – well, that was hardly off the keys of this computer before I thought of my little blue parakeet, Cherry, who delighted in talking to her “friend” in the mirror, so scratch that statement. But what a nice memory it brought back of my chatty little parakeet!
Everything is relative. When we spend anywhere from $3.50 to $5 for a cup of coffee we should consider that the same amount of money might buy a gold fish or a box of cat food. Even if you have a horse you can figure ways to adjust your income to the expenses. Maybe we should think of the cost of a pet as a household expense rather than a reason not to have a pet.
Pet health care is another money matter. One to take very seriously. Pets do need health care and sometimes it can be expensive. Definitely check into pet health insurance when you adopt a pet. There are quite a few organizations that have low cost vaccinations, spaying or neutering. There are vets that charge different rates. There are online pet medication sites that save us money. There are vets that will take monthly payments if an emergency occurs. And, of course, they all take credit cards if that’s your choice. The point is that there are options and you can plan ahead. Maybe stash $20 dollars a month into a fund for the annual check up.
Which brings us to not wanting to have a pet because it will die some day. Thinking back on my life with pets, two of the worst days of my life were days one of the dogs died. I’ve outlived all but two so far and yes, they all took part of my heart with them, but such fun, happy memories remain. We still talk about our past pets all the time. As a matter of fact, last Saturday we were telling someone about two of our dogs that have been gone about 8 years.
Rufus was our little blind schnauzer. My daughter agreed to take care of him for a cousin who picked him up for the Schnauzer Rescue. She had to leave town the very next day and would be gone for 2 weeks. Of course, we never gave him back. And, the day he died I made a complete fool of myself when rushing him to the local animal hospital. I tried to make a right hand turn (well I did make one) from the second lane. It was actually perfectly safe but the local cop was not amused. I begged him to put on his siren and escort me to the vet’s hospital. I admit I was hysterical and as luck would have it, he couldn’t leave fast enough. I was relieved – not because I got away without a ticket – because I was in a hurry! So yes, I understand that pet’s don’t live as long as we do and it’s hard to part with them. But even that has it’s benefits – for children especially. They usually first learn about life and death through some association with a pet. Many’s the family funeral that I remember for goldfish, turtles, birds, cats and dogs. We learned to take care of our pets to keep them healthy. We learned to be respectful at funerals. We learned to pay tribute to our pets and talk about what good friends they were. My younger brother actually learned to play Taps on a trumpet – just for our pet funerals – and the rest of the neighborhood pets too. They came to our pet’s last rites, we went to theirs. We chose special poems for the ceremony. Births, birthdays, anniversary’s, graduations, weddings, funerals – they are the rituals of our life. We share them with our pets.
There are trade-offs for everything in life, but giving up the joy, comfort and companionship of a pet in lieu of time, money or emotional investment might mean it’s time to evaluate life and see if maybe a pet would add a great deal to it.