Why You Shouldn’t Get A Pet
I’m a vet’s daughter. I have a cockatiel who I hand raised from 4 weeks old (Zugda is now 14 years old) and a 3.5-year-old re-homed labradoodle called Tchaikovsky “Chai”. They’re family.
So it may come as a big surprise when I suggest you don’t get a pet.
If 7-year-old Kate could hear me now, she would HATE what I have become. She’d throw her hundreds of soft toy animals at me and go stroke our beloved family dog to calm down. But if she stopped to hear why I believe most people shouldn’t get a pet, I know she would understand what I meant. I hope by the end of this blog post, you do too.
I am here to convince you not to get a pet, so you don’t ruin your life or participate in animal cruelty without knowing it.
Before I launch into the reasons why you shouldn’t get that cute puppy who has been frolicking in the fields of your dreams, I want to acknowledge the benefits and beauty of pets. As I write this blog post, my pet bird is sleeping beside me on the side of a wicker basket. His little chirps make me smile, his presence keeps me calm (when he is awake his presence can bring me frustration too though, hah). I could watch him scavenging around the kitchen bench for hours. I am convinced he is one of my main mindfulness practices. I will be lost when he passes away one day.
My mum is the lead volunteer in our area for a programme called “Therapy Pets". She manages volunteers who take their dogs into rest homes and schools. Mum takes her own dog into primary schools and spends time with children who need a little TLC. I don’t need to explain the way the children react when her animals walk into a room; I’m sure you’ve witnessed the excitement, calm, and grounding that animals provide.
A 2016 study examined the association between pet ownership and wellbeing and found that pet owners rated higher in life satisfaction with life than non-owners. Other studies show the benefits of owning animals include things like deriving companionship, comfort and support, improving self-esteem, and educational benefits such as the early experience of life events (e.g., birth, death) and learning how to care for another (e.g., through feeding and cleaning the animal).
I’ve personally seen the impact of a pat of a cat on people’s mental health, I’ve witnessed the power of a dog cuddle for someone with high sensory needs, and I’ve experienced the comfort of an animal when I’m sick.
Sick in bed with my healing labradoodle.
I wouldn’t like to live in a world without pets, but even though I am immensely privileged to work from home and have family around us to care for our creatures when we are away, I still struggle with the commitment of an animal plus the guilt of what we put our animals through. To quote a friend and dog trainer:
The amount of loving energy that comes out when people talk about their pets is enough to convince some people to get one! But if those pet owners elaborated, people wouldn’t be so quick to jump into it.
Here are a few reasons why I would question your decision to get a pet.
Globally, 56% of people live in cities.
That number is growing. Animals are not made to live in little boxes (apartments). Unfortunately, most of us do not have space suitable for a pet, yet that doesn’t seem to stop anyone - nearly two-thirds of New Zealand households have at least one companion animal! We harp on about our cruelty-free bacon purchasing decisions whilst leaving our labradors in a crate for several hours while we’re out and about.
We leave our pets alone for 8-10 hours a day.
There’s something deeply special about the moment you arrive home and your dog greets you at the door. No human would ever provide the type of love and adoration that dogs do. It’s a feeling like no other and in my humble opinion, it’s one of the best feelings in the world (to be loved, wanted, and cherished simply for being somewhere). But that moment of happiness your dog or animal expresses when you arrive home does not outweigh the 8-10 hours it just spent on its own in your house. It’s become the social norm to get a dog and leave it at home for 8-10 hours because that’s the reality of most people’s workdays.
Sure, some animals don’t mind it, but most do.
I will never forgive myself for the 6 months I spent in Ireland without my cockatiel. He didn’t come out of his cage for any other people. Knowing what he currently gets up to in a day at my house (eating things, nibbling objects, walking around the kitchen, snuggling up on my shoulder, pushing toys around, talking to people), and knowing how brain numb he would have been while sitting in his cage, makes me sick. This intelligent creature does not belong in a cage and I left him there for 6 months without thought.
Animals take SO MUCH WORK.
My dog is the biggest stressor in my life. Like all creatures, he has his issues, but his issues are major in a human-centric world and this involves constant attention. I love my dog dearly, but I often wish we never re-homed him. That sounds like a wild thing to say, but it’s true. The amount of tears, money, time, energy and emotional capacity we have spent on him outweigh the benefits he has brought to our life (plus if we hadn’t re-homed him, we wouldn’t have known what loveliness we were missing out on). He’s changed the way we socialise, the things that we do, and the freedom of my days. We’ve taken him through classes, specialist training, and continue to train him every single day. He’s one of the most obedient dogs I’ve met, but his anxieties will always be there.
You’ll say “not all dogs are like that”, but how do you know what you’re picking up when you choose a pet? The dog walker and trainer who takes him on pack walks and looks after him sometimes while we are away referred to the dogs we see out and about as ‘unicorn dogs’. Some people call them ‘bomb proof’ dogs because a bomb could go off and they wouldn’t react. You know - the dogs who lie under tables while hundreds of people pass by them. The dogs who let children grab their ears, who go on buses, who waltz into rooms of any sort of species without care. The dogs who do all of these things without any training needed. The dogs who don’t jump up and won’t jolt at loud noises. THEY ARE RARE. These dogs are the ones society sees the most of, while the rest of the pack sits at home with all sorts of doggy issues. Unicorn/bombproof dogs are 1 in a million because of great genetics, proper raising, emotionally stable home environments, and consistent structures with owners all having to align at once!
If you’re lucky enough to own a unicorn dog, go you! But the truth is, dogs are dogs. We’ve domesticated them, but they will always come with hard work and commitment. Unfortunately, this reality isn’t advertised when you are about to purchase a delicious looking pup.
Last year the SPCA attended over 13,700 call-outs to rescue animals at risk across New Zealand. Meanwhile, an Australian Shelter supervisor, Allie Small, said from June 2020 to July 2021, her organisation saw a 30% increase in pets being returned after being adopted or surrendered by their owners.
Pets are family to me. I grew up in a menagerie of many species and I know I will continue to have animals in my life (not always owning them) until the day that I die. But if someone on Instagram messages me again saying “your bird is so cute, where can I get one!?” I will tell them what I told the last person: don’t do it. Every time someone has asked me questions about where to get a dog or bird and we’ve engaged in an open conversation about what they want and what their situation is, they’ve concluded that a pet isn’t suitable for them.
So, before you rush out to grab that cute puppy or kitten, ask yourself this question:
Is getting a pet a selfish excuse to have someone bowl me over with love when I get home?
Do I have the space and time for an animal?
Am I prepared for this animal to be behaviourally difficult?
Do I have people around me to care for the animal when I am away or the funds to pay someone to?
Could I share and care for a friend’s animal instead?
I don’t want you to ruin your life by committing to an animal that doesn’t suit your lifestyle and I don’t want you to ruin an animal’s life by taking one in and realising you cannot give it what it needs.
If you have come to the end of this blog post without being scared off of animals and you feel prepared to commit to an animal in a way it deserves, get one! But if, deep down, you realise you’re like every other person who wants a pet for self-centred reasons and knows their lifestyle isn’t pet friendly… stick to walking your neighbour’s dog, cuddle your friend’s cat when you visit them, and offer to look after your mate’s bird when they’re away next.
A blog post around the environmental impacts of animal ownership is coming soon. Sign up to the Ethically Kate Newsletter so you don’t miss it.
Note: If you are reading this and realise you and your pet need more support, consider finding it!
If you’re in Aotearoa New Zealand, check out The Dog Share Collective Facebook page or website. I also highly recommend finding a local trainer and/or dog walker who can take your dog regularly. This does cost, but the investment usually adds up to a much happier dog!
Another note: Since you keep on asking… we feed our dog Feed My Furbaby food and I have shared about sustainable dog ownership too.
References & Resources:
Bao, K. J., & Schreer, G. (2016). Pets and Happiness: Examining the Association between Pet Ownership and Wellbeing. Anthrozoös, 29(2), 283–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2016.1152721
Podberscek, A. L. (2006). Positive and Negative Aspects of Our Relationship with Companion Animals. Veterinary Research Communications, 30(S1), 21–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-006-0005-0
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/global-continent-urban-population-urbanisation-percent/
https://www.companionanimals.nz/publications
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-11/covid-dog-adoptions-returns/100365042
