BUT my mother (and grandmother) insisted that I could not possibly handle a dog at that point. How was I going to afford one? And then there was having to walk it in the snow and/or at night. Plus, I was not home enough to have a dog. I told myself I would be committed to a dog and be home more often and take care of it well, but I listened to their advice.
Just look at that cuteness!
Looking back, I'm incredibly glad that my grandmother and mother were so adamantly against me getting a dog. I still feel like I would have made more time for a dog and I would have budgeted a little better, and I would have handled the weather BUT it wouldn't have been better enough. Now, I can look at Ellie and know how much more she deserves than what I would have been able to give at that point in my life.
I'm not saying that a grad student couldn't handle a dog (Or even an undergrad). I'm saying that at that point in my own life, I wasn't prepared enough for a pet. Ellie and I live in an apartment with a roommate and 2 cats. This roommate is past grad school, but completely incapable of caring for her cats the way they deserve. If anyone took care of Ellie the way those cats are taken care of, I think I would murder them for neglecting her.
What I'm saying is this: If you have a pet, you have a responsibility to them. That means buying everything they need (I know you're thinking food, but there's also toys, clothing/leashes/collars, waste disposal [poop bags aren't exactly cheap, litter is at least], vet visits [I regularly drop a couple hundred bucks taking Ellie to the vet. I'm somewhere around $700 for this year], etc.).
That means committing time; your pet doesn't care what hour of the day it is, it cares that it needs to go to the bathroom; it needs petting even if you've been at work for 15 hours already that day and just want to sleep; it means time spent cleaning up after whatever accident or mess that they made (No animal is perfect and you can't expect that of a pet). It means time throwing a ball or pulling a tug of war toy because they're tired of sitting around all day waiting on you to come home.
That means making sure your pet feels safe in its own home. If you bring home a second animal that doesn't get along with the first, you better be keeping them in separate rooms and paying equal attention to them. I have sat this semester and watched the cats beat the crap out of each other and their owner does nothing. I'm not a cat person and I feel bad for them.
Then there's the whole issue of having someone to take care of your pet when you can't. Going to visit your parents for Christmas? Flights cost a minimum of $125 for a pet who fits under the seat. Boarding is going to coast even more. Leaving the pet with a friend? You have to make sure that the sitter has everything they need. I had to go get cat litter at 9 o'clock one night because there was none and I was pet sitting the cats for the week.
Don't get me wrong, Ellie is the best part of my life right now. I love my job but I love it more when I leave work and go home to her. And I love cuddling in bed on lazy Saturday mornings. And I love playing on the beach with her. She is worth every bit of hard work/time/money I spend on her.
Go ahead, get a pet! Just make sure you give your pet EVERYTHING it deserves!
