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Parent vs. Parent: Pets -- No way!
When I was growing up, we generally had at least one dog. My mother, early on, bred, trained, and showed dachshunds. Later, we had a lovely little schipperke and some amazingly dumb borzois. After my mom passed away (who was extremely allergic), we had a wonderful cat that would sleep on my dad's head. Unfortunately, she passed away from cancer.My sister, meanwhile, had a dog that she just couldn't seem to control. It was an australian sheepdog and had an instinctive need to herd things, mostly by nipping at their heels. Given the dearth of sheep in our neighborhood, she substituted the cable guy, people at the stable where she worked, and neighbors. When she took a taste of an elderly woman that worked for a neighbor, that neighbor told me "this is the sort of thing you hope for" and promptly contacted her lawyer. Rumour has it, she got $20k from my homeowner's insurance who then promptly dropped me like a hot potato.
That brings me to my number one reason we won't be having any pets: liability. In San Francisco, especially, there is one word that I'm sure must instill fear in every dog owner -- Whipple. In 2001, Diane Whipple was savagely killed by two large dogs owned by her neighbor. The sleazeballs who owned the dogs -- a pair of lawyers who had, just days before, adopted a member of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang serving a life sentence they claimed was the dogs' real owner -- got off with a much lighter sentence than they should have. They did, however, set a precedent that, in my opinion, makes it very dangerous to own even harmless dogs in San Francisco.
On top of that, pets are generally covered with hair -- until they shed it all over your clothes, bed, computers, and pretty much anywhere else they can get it. While they may not cause as much damage or generate as much filth as children, they still make a considerable mess. It's not something I'm willing to deal with.
There's more to it, also, than just cleaning up after them. Pets require a lot of effort -- walking, feeding, washing, and so on. And as anyone who's ever watched an afterschool special knows, kids start out full of good intentions but quickly lose interest in actually caring for their pets. It then falls to the hapless parents to take on the added task of taking care of the pet.
So, the only pets my kids will be getting, I think, will be a pet rock. Other than that, they're welcome to visit friends with pets as much as they like.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
5-18-2007 @ 11:10AM
Monica said...I'm a dog lover, and owner, and I can't wait to read the other side of this episode of Parent vs Parent, but I did want to comment on your side.
While I love my dogs, and wouldn't want to be without them, I do wish that people would be aware of what they were getting into before they bring home puppy. The kind of evaluation you have described needs to take place before you decide taht a puppy is a good idea. If you come out of the first pass with a yes, you need to go over it again with the traits of the breed you are considering.
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5-18-2007 @ 11:16AM
lt said...I couldn't agree with you more. My Mom is a dog lover, and we always had at least two of them when I was growing up. Add to that a couple of cats, and whatever else we were into at the time. Fish, the occassional hamster, and usually a rabbit in the backyard. Now that I'm a married home owner with 2 kids of my own - I've gone COMPLETELY the other way! We have one outdoor cat and that's it. No dogs. Not now, not ever. If they didn't poop or pee, I might consider it. But, as my son's favorite book will tell you - "Everybody Poops" so no dogs for us. I think that die-hard animal lovers are usually weirdo's anyway - I'm glad not to be one!!
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5-18-2007 @ 6:04PM
Maureen said...I have this argument with myself all the time. I grew up with all sorts of animals -- dogs, cats, fish, snakes, lizards.... I loved my animals and my dog was my friend. I am now considering denying my own kids that kind of companionship because animals are, well, dirty! I can contain my kids' mess somewhat, but a dog? They lick everything and then lick you. They poop outside and then come in and sit on your couch (gross!) and hair is everywhere!
I won't have an outside cat because I won't do that to my neighbors -- I hate the folks with outside cats because those cats come into my yard and do their business and then my kids find it. I feel like saying... keep your cat poop in your own house!
I'm sure I will lose the argument, though, because I know in my heart how great a family pet is for kids. Would it be weird to make the dog wear a diaper? :)
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5-20-2007 @ 2:15AM
Julian said...The real issue with parents getting pets for their kids is that 90% of parents are too willing to look at pets as "disposable" - are you aware, when you buy that $5 hamster, that you actually DO have to take it to the vet when it gets sick? That's not your kid's responsibility - it's yours, and it's your responsibility to make sure the pet is being cared for properly.
Either that or teach your kids the value of a good cervical dislocation, I guess.
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