Pets ARE a Luxury

I feel like this is truly MY mantra. Pets ARE a luxury.


You need food. You need shelter. After that, if you have kids, you need to provide those things for them. Then there's education. Then there's maybe some fun stuff for the kids. 


THEN. if you look at  the above, your household expenses and find that, with ALL of those, you have some disposable income and you do not need to FINANCE a pet and better yet will rescue one, you get a pet.


You get a pet and know that:


1. Simply to keep that pet healthy, they will require check ups as babies and as they grow (puppies/kittens into adults), vaccines, preventatives to keep them healthy. The need yearly maintainence = twice yearly if older, more if on meds or with problems. 


2. Anytime, a situation could arise where they could simply get sick or get into something. This situation will require a vet visit, testing and medication. Sometimes it could require 
hospitalization or surgery.  You are responsible for that.


3. It is not anyone's fault at the vet hospital that your pet is sick. We DO love animals. We also have bills to pay and mouths to feed. That same hospital needs to pay it's own bills - drugs, electricity, staffing, etc. YOU are responsible for your pet. If you can't be, relinquish it and do NOT get another one.


4. Pets cost money. Bad things happen that you can prevent and that you can't (just like with human children). Do not get a pet and fail to take care of it and then blame others for the fact that now you are facing a huge bill with a poor outcome.