Responsibility is Key

After being a pet owner for the past 3 years I think a responsible pet owner is one that can balance caring for their pet with their own life. They cannot be selfish with their time because they realize their pet needs them for things they cannot do themselves like letting them go outside to pee or changing the litter box. Although it can be less maintenance to self feed the animals it is bad for them so a good pet owner should have a schedule with their pet for meal and treat time. Most important of all is that the owner is willing to take the animal to the veterinarian when it develops a new need or is due for their yearly exam. Pets are time and money and a younger volunteer agreed, when I asked her what qualities she thought were found in a good pet owner. She elaborated more on the funding that it takes to care for a pet, especially a dog. She said that a lot of the visitors that end up adopting do not take the time to marinate  on the idea of exactly how much work this living thing is going to take for at least the next 5-10 years. I speak to Angela a lot when I am visiting the cat room and she says it drives her crazy when all of these young girls come in thinking “oh I’m just going to pick out a little kitten or puppy” and they never think (because they have never had to) how much that new pet is going to drain from their lives especially if they plan to go to classes and care for themselves. For my photo of a responsible pet owner I decided to choose the shelter house cat, Zack. Originally I was going to choose my friend’s cats as my subject but when I was on my way out I saw him…he was laying in what seemed to be his own cloud of pillows in the hall cleaning himself. I just couldn’t help it I had to bother him for a snap shot.