Suggestions on finding the Right Pet for your Family

[journaldelaware]

Bringing home a new pet can lead to years of joy and happiness. But choose the wrong animal and it can end in frustration for you and your pet. So how did you go about finding the right kind and/or breed of pet for your family? What things did you consider? What steps did you take? How did you prepare your kids?



My name is Denise Morrison Yearian and I am a local journalist currently writing an article on choosing the right pet for one's family and I'd like to have your input. Post your thought here. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

[BigJim]

with the little ones and also with our schedules we just had to go with the cats. Kate has on occasion ask about a dog, but we just don't think we're able to keep a dog right now.

We both work a lot and really don't have the capability to watch a dog and be able to let it out on a schedule. Our cats can help themselves for over 24 hours should they need to, as they have on occasion.

Plus, of the two cats we have, one is just as friendly as he can be and seems to really love the girls and is as gentle with them as he can be. The other doesn't want anything to do with neither of them. While she isn't very nice, we don't have to worry about her being mean to them because she doesn't ever want to be with them and looks for the nearest way out when ever Kate gets anywhere close.

[Abuela]

Rescue groups, all the way. Not only are you giving a loving home to a pet that might otherwise be euthanized, the rescue groups I've worked with all were able to give me a very clear idea of our dogs' temperaments and they usually have a very realistic idea of how well an animal is going to respond to small children, because of the time that the dogs spend in their foster-care system before finding a forever home. We have two pugs, both rescued through Maryland Pug Rescue (which is now Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue) and a wonderful chocolate lab mix rescued through the Delaware Alliance for Animal Welfare Groups (www.daawgs.org).

[chmom77]

I agree with Abuela about going with rescue groups. We have 5 pets. The first two are cats that came from our local SPCA when we lived in VA. Our next pet is a German Shepherd dog from a rescue group in MD. He is a beautiful, intelligent, purebred German Shepherd who was purchased by a family and then abandoned at 4 months old and almost starved to death. Our next pet is a frog. He was given to me by a friend who didn't want him any more (after he had been raised by her daughter as a pet in captivity) and was planning to kill him to get rid of him. Our 5th pet is another purebred German Shepherd dog who we got from the Kent County SPCA. She was very antisocial because of previous abuse and was almost put down by the SPCA. Our first dog brings out the best in her. I don't think she would have survived without him. All of our pets were adopted pre-kids.

If you already have a pet and want another, I recommend introducing your pet to any prospective new pets before deciding for sure. The SPCA will allow you to bring your current dogs into their runs to play with their dogs and see how they interact before making a decision.

[Abuela]

Also, many/most rescue groups will not only allow you to introduce your current animals to a prospective new pet, they will also consider a trial placement, so that you can see if the animal is a good fit for your family before making your final commitment.

I just want to say one thing about non-SPCA rescues. First, this is NOT a knock on the SPCA and other shelters who have absolutely NO CHOICE but to euthanize a huge number of the animals that come into their care because of the overwhelming number of irresponsible breeders, irresponsible pet owners who support those puppy mills and "hobby breeders", and even more deeply irresponsible pet owners who can't be bothered to be truly responsible for the animal that they've brought into their life. I've recommended non-SPCA rescue groups to people before who are get all bent out of shape because they ask for an adoption fee that typically ranges from $100-500, depending on the group and whether it's a general or breed-specific rescue. What they don't see is that for ever $100 they ask for as an adoption fee, they've spent many times that in medical care, food, and supplies, and that doesn't even count the countless hours that their volunteers put into fostering, transporting, and caring for these animals. People are quite frankly stupid when it comes to adoption fees -- they'll pay ten times as much to a pet shop for an animal bred under horrifying puppy mill conditions or by "hobby breeder" who never consider issues of genetic disorders or simple overbreeding as they randomly pair two "AKC" dogs and call it a day. Then they turn around and are shocked about medical or congenital or behavioral problems, and dump the dog at the SPCA.

OK can you tell that I'm pretty passionate about this subject?!?

[journaldelaware]

Thanks, All. Anyone else have a story to share on the steps you took to find the right pet for your family?