It would be nice to have a pet, it may comfort me for some time but i'm still a bit hesitant because i'm not sure if i could take care of one when i can't even take care of myself
Do you have a pet? Share your thoughts
I was kinda scared to look in here ....cuz I have ... A few ...
So ... I was raised in a veterinary clinic (dad was a DVM). He was also bird crazy. We lived on 5 acres and we had all kinds of dogs, cats, birds (OMG the BIRDS!!), horses, cattle, sheep, and more than a few large aquariums and exotics. He also rehabbed for the Wildlife Department so if it was indigenous to Oklahoma we had a few of those, too -- bobcats, coyotes, possums, skunks, all kinds of hawks, gosh, you name it I have probably fed it and cleaned up it's poop.
And that leads me to where I am now -- 4 dogs, 5 cats, a family of baby possums in my backyard, 3 ducks, 3 chickens, several covey of bobwhite quail, a half dozen zebra finches and a bazillion house plants. Oh ... And 2 LARGE palladiums (aquariums turned into little ecosystems for plants and small shrimp or lizards and/or insects to live in) and 2 mid-sized aquariums. Nevermind the gardens I have in the front and back yards -- where I live encourages rainwater collection and pollinator and wildlife habitat gardens, as well as front yard vegetable gardening so I have kinda gone a little apeshit.
AND, now that I know a couple of neighbors who I have absolutely NO USE for have made it clear they think my front yard garden has "ruined" their property value I am on a REAL mission. When I get done with MY property there will not be a single, solitary blade of bermuda grass on the ground I own and there will not be a damned thing they can do about it.
Just wait until I put that beehive out front next spring.
Can you tell I am over other people trying to get me to feel some kinda way just to get what they want?? Yeah ...
So ... Anyway ... It is not a stretch to say my pets saved me life. They kept me here until my son and I could find our way back to each other. They kept me focused when my husband passed away last year. Instead of dwelling on the VERY complicated feelings that came from his passing -- he would still be here if he wasn't a petty little bitch who was trying to get even with me ... And then I learned he screwed me over every way he could manage financially (long story but he didn't manage to do as much damage as he would have liked) -- they kept me on fairly solid ground.
You have to be brutally honest with yourself -- because having a pet is much like having a child. It is COMPLETELY DEPENDENT on you for it's care and well-being. If you take spells where you cannot care for yourself will you be able to take care of your pet during those periods?? (Complete disclosure here -- I have been thru periods where I absolutely did not care for myself but my pets and plants were ALWAYS cared for. ALWAYS. In fact, if I hadn't had them I likely would have not even gotten out of bed for weeks at a time but because they needed me I was forced to get up and at least move around enough to feed, water and look after them.
And the affection I got from them?? That made any "inconvenience" might have felt all worthwhile. It is not an exaggeration to say they saved me. More than once over my lifetime ...
So ... Just be honest with yourself. If you can keep them healthy and clean they will do your mental health all kinds of good. IMHO of course.
