They're animals, not children

Recently, I was accused of not taking care of my pets. I find this to be extremely ironic, as well as hypocritical of the person making the accusation. Now, I personally own 2 dogs (Little dog and Big dog) as well as a Tortoise I was given by a then-friend (that's another topic for another time). The comment was in reference to the dogs.

Why do I find this ironic? Because I've also been accused (not by the same person) of treating my dogs too much like "children". You may wonder "how so? Are you the crazy dog lady who buys her dogs ridiculous outfits?" No. Although I will say that Little Dog has had a Halloween costume and a faux fur coat - but that was a gift from someone else. Both dogs have coats to wear when it's cold because they are hair dogs, not fur dogs and they had very short hair and very little fat. The reason I was accused of treating my dogs too much like "children" is because I firmly believe in taking your pets in for annual check-ups. Which apparently is too much for other people to grasp.

"Why does a DOG need an annual exam?", "Dogs only need to go to the Vet when they're sick", "It's a dog, not a person. Why waste your money?" Well, for starters it's because, just like with Humans, PREVENTION is better than treatment in most cases. How is a Vet supposed to know what your particular pet is truly sick when they don't know what they're like when they're healthy? Just like with people, people should get a regular, annual physical with their physicians. This helps the Doctors know when something is abnormal - FOR YOU. Same thing with a cat or dog.

The other reason is this: Cats and Dogs do not have voices. They can not tell you, as your child can in various ways, when they don't feel good or when they're in pain, usually until it's too late. When you adopt a pet, you are including that animal into your family. They are part of your family. So why should they be neglected in the health department? It is imperative that they be seen so that as they age, you can become more aware of special health needs that they might have. I also firmly believe in spaying and neutering all animals, with very few exceptions. And I don't believe that ANY animals should have "at least one litter" before being spayed or neutered. It simply has too many risks. Did you know that dogs and cats who are not spayed or neutered have an extremely high rate of cancer development? And that even waiting to spay or neuter them increases chances of non-reproductive cancers?

Which leads into the hypocritical portion. Why is it hypocritical? Because the person claiming that I don't take care of my dogs has 2 cats. Two male cats. Neither one is neutered. They have sprayed this persons entire house, and I'm not just talking laundry baskets and carpets either. Curtains, Couches, bedding. You name it. This person also has not licensed their cats (which is illegal, btw, even indoor pets like cats must be licensed and the fines are STEEP) nor have they taken them to the vet at any point in time that I am aware of. Just before Halloween, I spent $200 taking my dog to the vet because I was worried that some of his behavior indicated an bladder infection, plus Separation Anxiety issues. I then spent another $73 on PROZAC. For my DOG.

Now, I must say that where the complaint stemmed from is understandable. It had been more than a day or two since I had done "doody duty" and the day before and that particular day where rather warm and well, yeah. And I get that. HOWEVER!!! This person could have easily come to me and said "Would you mind cleaning up your yard?" And I would have gladly done so. The reason I had neglected to do so is that I'm still juggling more responsibilities than I have been used to in a while. Going to college (from home) and having a lot of involved assignments that weren't just reading, agreeing to help out a friend which meant leaving as soon as Darling Daughter was out of school and not returning until dark most nights, almost every night of the week for two weeks and everyone knows it's impossible to find dark, dog doo-doo in the dark! Even by flashlight. Not to mention indoor chores that were also being neglected. I just felt like I only had so much time in the day and school was FIRST (after DD's needs of course), my obligation to my friend second, dishes and laundry third and everything else would get done when it got done. Including cleaning up dog waste.

However, I did not neglect my dogs in any way during this two week period (and FYI, it wasn't 2 weeks that I left the poo out there. It was only 2-3 days). They were fed, played with, had ear rubs and let out.

My biggest pet peeve is people who get pets and don't include them as part of the family. I'm not saying dress your dog or cat up. I'm not saying talk baby talk to them. And despite being a dog food "elitist" I'm not saying you need to feed them Gourmet food even! All I'm saying, is that you need to include them as part of the family, even just as a pet. I don't believe that cats should ever be outdoors if you live in town or city. I don't believe that dogs should ever be left outside 24/7. If this means that I treat dogs like children, so be it. It certainly means you can NOT say that I neglect my pets, however. Because that would be a lie.