Pets have feelings to

                                                                                 
Those of you that know me know that I love my family. I have three beautiful girls and a wonderful husband. There is 1 member of my family who dosent get mentioned as much as he should. My son Buddy.  Yes, he is of a different species, and yes he has 4 legs.  He is a golden retriever.  Just because he is a dog, dosent mean that he is any less a family member.  I joke that my husband would get rid of me and the girls before he would get rid of Buddy, but I think there is some truth to that. 

I have worked in the vet field for 14 1/2 years now.  I have learned that although there are many different types of pets, there are only 3 different types of owners.

The first type of owner I am going to discuss is probably the least common:  I feel like I am apart of this group along with a few good friends of mine. These owners arent owners, they are parents.  Their pets are their children.  As a mom of human children, I take them to have their vaccines as required. As a mom of a 4 legged child, I take him to have his vaccines as required. I feed him, love him and treat him like he is my child. He lives indoors with us, he eats 2 meals a day.  He plays outside an appropriate amount of time and he does not stay out in the rain or snow. Although he does have a very comfortable bed, he sometimes sleeps on my bed. Sometimes I think he acts like he dosent know what I'm saying when I tell him to move.  I think he uses the "dog" thing to his advantage.

                                                             

The next type of owner I'm going to discuss is the most common.  They are good owners. they feed and take care of their pets. The bring their pets to the Dr when needed. They have their family and their pet.  There is nothing wrong with this type of owner.  These pets are very lucky to have a family to take care of them.

I cant even discuss the next type of owner without getting a little sensitive so I will do my best. If you do not have intentions of caring for a pet the way it needs, you should not be a pet owner.  To many times I hear, "its just a dog". There is no such thing as a free pet.  Vaccines cost money (yes, they are needed. no, they are not invented for the vet to make money).  Alot of research time and money go into developing vaccines to make sure that your pet stays safe.  Its funny when I hear people say, "my pet never goes outside". I want to say in return "well, how did it get here then".  But I dont.  Something that people need to remember is that pets have feelings to. They hurt, they love, they cry and they cuddle. They dont deserve anything less that love and kindness.  They need to be treated like you would want to be treated.

                                                                                   
Just one last thing: If you have a pet, you need to love it. If you dont have a pet and feel that you could love it, there are many sweet loving pets that need homes. If you are not sure about keeping one long term, consider fostering.  A dear friend of mine is fostering the cutest little min pin I have ever seen. I would love to get you intouch with an adoption center or a rescue organization.  Please consider.