I am an animal lover. I grew up with dogs, Frank grew up with dogs, and there are a few cats I have really liked. Other animals that I have had include: fish, hamsters, gerbils, a bunny and a turtle. However, there a few reasons why Frank and I have chosen not to have pets, particularly a dog, at this time.
1. I don't want to have to clean-up my backyard every time the kids want to go play.
2. I don't want to have to worry about potty training a dog, I've already done it twice with two boys and have only one child left.
3. I have three kids and a husband, I don't need more chaos and a nipping puppy around.
4. When we travel I don't want to have to worry about a kennel, or hiring someone to come feed our dog.
5. There is too much going on to worry about an animal- especially accidents in the house or when they get sick.
Now, I write this post because while I was mowing our 5 inch tall grass today in the back I kept mowing over cat poop. Was I even able to see it admist the jungle? No. Therefore I either mowed over it or ran over it with the lawn mower tires. Hmmmm, do we own a cat? NO. I wonder (pick up the sarcasm), how did it get there? Answer: our lovely neighbors who all have cats. Argggh! I don't hate their cats, I just hate the fact that I don't own a pet for this very reason and I am still dealing with this problem. I know cats are hard to control because they wander around. I don't think I should have to suffer because these people don't want their cats inside. Now mind you, I know anyone who reads this blog and has a pet is responsible and they take good care of respecting the neighbors. It's always the ones that need this reminder the most that never acknowledge the subtle hints I've given them. Is there anything that will keep a cat away from my lawn- besides poison? (ahhh, just kidding, I would never do that) Anyway, my random venting session is over. Just notice the title of this post, this is one of my "PET" peeves.
With that said, I know we will get a dog someday, but only when the time is right.
6 comments:
Ick! We had a dog before Carter was born for almost a year... I loved her but I went crazy cleaning up after her. She was kind of a psychotic dog, and not ready to live with a baby, so she had to go and Scott and I both cried. We really did love her. My biggest issue was having a pet in the house. I just didn't feel like it was CLEAN. She wasn't a stinky dog, but would shed some and I went crazy trying to keep my same standard of cleanliness. We want a dog again someday too, but I'm still working on how to get past the whole clean house thing. Cats are another matter entirely... I hate cats. I loved them when I was a little girl and had a few I packed around all over the place, but now as an adult I just don't have any affection for them. They gross me out. (I hope I don't offend any animal lovers, it's just an opinion.) Gerbils and any kind of rodent just give me the bageebees. I can't see why anyone would want one living in their house, and reptiles kind of scare me. My poor kids are going to be sad, but I just can't handle it. So I guess all they can have is maybe a short haired little dog that doesn't shed, is *potty trained, well mannered, perfectly behaved* or parakeets. Scott had parakeets from the time he was 15 until just last year (they live forever!) and I didn't love them, but I could tolerate them. Secretly, I felt liberated when the last one died. That's sad, but I was the one who ended up vacuming it's seeds and feeling sorry for it since it's companion died. Whew. long comment, sorry, but I could really relate to this post. Are the cats coming in your fenced yard, or are the sides fenced in? I can't remember. Good luck with that. Cat poop stinks.
If you have a spare $50 laying around, you can go to the animal shelter and give them a $50 cash deposit and they will let you borrow a trap. If you trap the cat, bring it into the shelter. I am going to do that as soon as I get my fence put up. I don't understand why people freak out if a dog is running around loose, but it's okay to let a cat. Ticks me off!
If you want to keep a cat out of your backyard, get a dog! Our dog is outside all the time and I can't remember the last time a car was back there!
Personally, I think it is irresponsible to have cats and NOT keep them inside. They belong indoors unless you live on a farm. Vets will even tell you that it is more humane to keep them indoors as it prevents cat fights, disease, unfortunate incidents, etc. I loved my cats until Meredith was born. Now I couldn't care less about them. :)
Heidi--I could have written the exact same post. same reasons we do not want a pet, and how sick we are of other people's pet-poop. We don't have a fence on the front of our yard, so we get dog poop in the back. Who is not watching their dog?!?! Such a pain! I wish I knew the answer, if you find it, let me know.
I think I've told you before that I can't wait until my dog dies. And after that. NO MORE!
Sure, I'll be sad. She's a sweet dog, but it will be so nice not to have to deal with it all anymore!
(i'm so mean!)
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