I have been a dog lover my whole life, so I cannot stand it when I see a dog or any other pet being ill-treated.
I feel that many college students, who like myself, are pet lovers and they decide to get a pet while in college. For some this may not be an issue, but with my busy schedule I know that I would not have the necessary time to dedicate towards caring for a pet.
Students have very little time to take care for a pet between a heavy class load, a part-time job, being involved on campus, working out, and making time for friends. There is a lot more to taking care of an animal then just giving it some food a couple times a day. They need to be let out on a regular basis, exercised, and just shown affection. Some pets even need to be groomed.
If my apartment allowed pets, I would LOVE to be able to get a dog. In my current situation though, it would not be fair to the animal. Several days throughout the week, I am gone for a very large portion of the day. When I am gone, who is going to let him outside? Who is going to make sure your dog didn’t turn your pillow into a pile of feathers or make sure your cat didn’t turn your curtains into ribbons? In a lot of ways, pets seem like little kids. If you are not paying them any attention, they tend to look for ways to get your attention.
Personally, if I did get a pet, I would want a medium to a large sized dog. Keeping a good sized pet in a small apartment would be a major injustice to the animal. That size of a dog needs room to run around, room to play. That is just one more reason why I know that there is no way I could be a good responsible pet-owner at this time in my life.
I have a friend that got a dog when he was in this exact situation. We lived in an apartment and he was never home. Since the dog was never let outside, he would often use our living room floor as his toilet. Guess who was the one that ended up being punished. In reality though it was not the dog’s fault. If you have to go you have to go, it wasn’t the dog’s fault that he couldn’t let himself outside. Fortunately, for both my friend and the dog, his mom is now taking care of him.
That dog was lucky though, many other pets are not nearly as fortunate as he was. A lot of people realize they bit off more then they can chew to late, and either take their pet to the animal shelter or just abandon them. By taking them in originally, you may of robbed them of a chance to go to a home where people are better suited to care for the animal.
It doesn’t make you a good pet owner just because you do not beat or abuse your pet. Neglecting your pet, even though it may be involuntary and out of your control, is still a form of abuse. Deciding to get a pet is a much bigger responsibility then a lot of people realize. So before you decide to take this step in your life, make sure you are ready to be a responsible, caring, and loving pet owner. n