5 Steps to Not Being a Shitty Pet Owner
- c/o nyanimalrescue.org
- Brody, a Terrier/Pit Bull Mix, available at Sean Casey Animal Rescue Center.
Honor the Commitment You Made to Another Living Thing
So, the New York Times had an article this past weekend about how difficult it is for pet owners to find apartments in New York City. Basically, pet ownership makes you a very undesirable tenant or co-op owner. If you are the kind of person who values your apartment more than your pet, then you shouldn’t own a pet. If you could consider giving up a living thing who only wants to play with you and make you happy, for an apartment that features a dishwasher, then you shouldn’t own a pet. When you decide to take a pet into your home, you are making a commitment to another living thing. And unlike leaving a marriage, which involves two consenting adults and thus can be dissolved at any time, your pet never asked for you to take it in. You chose to do that, and by choosing to do that, you have an obligation. And that obligation is not to be a shitty owner. So, if a laundry room in the basement is more important to you than being loved unconditionally, then don’t own a pet. It doesn’t mean you’re a shitty person, just that you’d be a shitty pet owner.
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