So, I went to Petco to get some holiday treats for Quincy, Nordberg, Boris, and Sherman (two beagles, a cat, and a turtle, respectively) when we saw some puppies. The girl fell in love with it immediately. He’s an 8-week old rat terrier-beagle mix named Pigpen.
Girl has two cats already, Emmy and Towelfish. The problem is that the housing association only allows one animal. She has two currently She’s also trying to fight the puppy love and trying to rationalize if she wants to walk it and feed it and what not (which isn’t much of an issue because I do a lot of that stuff for the cats already and would happily do that for the puppy if she wanted it). We’re about to head to the shelter to see the pups, help out, if need be, and see Pigpen. He’s on Petfinder, but no picture. Suffice to say, he is absolutely adorable.
Anyways, here’s her list of pros and cons:
Pros
Puppy is cute and cuddly
Would love me
Needs a home
Cons
Association only allows one small pet
No yard
Lots of walking and energy
Letting the dog out
Must be let out even if it’s cold
Cats could get upset
So, I’m trying to stay neutral, telling her that if she wants the puppy, we can get the puppy and we’ll be fine. If she doesn’t want it, that’s cool, we already have two cats. I told her to research the breeds and see if that fits in with her.
Um…puppies are awesome but a lot of work. You mostly covered it with the pros and cons you listed.
-I live in an apartment and taking the dog out when it is cold or raining sucks.
-Getting puppies enough exercize is hard and will take up a lot of your time (or furnature, one or the other)
-Puppies are a lot more like kids then cats. They need you more than a cat ever will. Your daily shedule will change. Particularly with an apartment, someone will need to be home at regular intervals to walk the dog. When it’s a pup you might want to consider a dog walker.
-Some puppies really don’t like cats, but if they are young enough might be ok with them, the place you adopt the pup from should know.
But dogs rule. And getting a puppy is awesome.
I don’t know if that helped but…feel free to ask questions I guess.
So… maybe I’m missing something here, but your girlfriend’s housing association only allows one animal, and she already has two? While I’m all for loving homes for all animals, I’m also against the kind of crises that read “My housing association found my second/third animal and now I have to move/get rid of an animal”. That’s much sadder.
I’m one of those people who can’t enter a shelter without being overwhelmed with the desire to take an animal (or 6) home, so I sympathize. But it doesn’t sound like a good idea from what the OP says.
There are lots of dogs who end up in animal shelters because the owner broke the rules at their place of residence by having them. Me, I wouldn’t do it. When I was looking to buy a place, one of the things I factored in was my desire for pets and whether the rules accomodated my plans. It’s one of the reasons I decided to buy a house rather than a townhome, actually, since association rules are often more strict than city rules.
I completely understand puppy love. When my last dog died, I decided not to get another one, because I’m not in a position to care for another right now. And believe me, I’ve been sorely tempted…a year and a half ago, my neighbors literally plopped a puppy into my arms thinking I’d keep it. Instead, I helped them find a home for it. It about killed me, but there’s no way I’m taking on a dog right now.
