Choosing a Pet

Among the great joys in life, one of them would be living with an animal of another species. One of the down sides to owning a pet is that an animal takes time, attention and money. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals suggests that you consider the following questions before adopting a pet.

Are you willing to care for the animal throughout its lifetime?
Will you give your pet love and attention when it needs you, and not just at your convenience?
Can you afford the cost of food, grooming and regular veterinary care, including yearly shots and checkups?
Will you see that your pet gets regular, daily exercise?
If your pet is a dog, are you prepared to housebreak your pet and to train it in basic obedience? Will you license it and obey the leash law?

When considering the kind of animal you might adopt as a pet, consult all members of the family, including other pets. If you are thinking about adopting another dog, take the dog that is already a member of your family to visit the prospective adoptee to see how the two animals get along. Older cats often will more easily accept a kitten than another grown cat.

Find out how big the breed of dog you choose will be when mature. If you live in a house with a big, fenced-in yard, you can have any dog or pet you choose that is allowed by your city's zoning laws. But if you live in a small apartment, you may want to choose small, quiet pets that don't need as much "elbow" or tail-wagging space.

Add up costs of pet ownership.

Pets should not be treated as stuffed toys/gifts simply be given away. You must take responsibility for them and establish a binding relationship. Children younger than three should not be given any small animal as a pet. Many incidents of pet deaths can be traced to such young children unintentionally 'loving' them (just a bit too much).

Consider adopting an animal from a shelter (research/look up such places as 'Animal Shelter, Humane Society or Animal Control'). There are many kinds of animals to select from including puppies and kittens, and older pets that may already be housebroken or trained in obedience. Most of these shelters try to match people and animals and almost all require that the animals be spayed or neutered as a condition for adoption.

This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pets.