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After losing my spouse suddenly, my dog is my lifeline. She is the reason I get up and out every morning. We had a motorhome and took her with us, when we traveled via plane or ship, she was left in good care with my daughter or a friend. She is certified as a therapy dog and has brought countless joy and love to children and adults. She is worth every dollar for her care.
There is no right answer except what you can accept and live with
They use pets in nursing homes--even Alzheimer's centers where people do not know their loved ones, they can still gain affection and value from time with pets...
Yes--traveling with pets is difficult---we had cat for 14 yrs--put him to sleep before last Christmas ...he traveled with us going bac and forth to our house in FL--made some 8-10 hrs drives...one of the last trips we had longer than usual drive because of road construction...
You have not lived until you have held a little box in your lap in the back seat of a moving Tahoe and let the cat out of his carrier and assisted him in using that necessary device...
The dog is no problem--she sleeps most of the time--does her business when we stop for gas or lunch and doesn't need her Diazipam any more now that she is used to the travel...
And the cat was normally very good---no crying, no throwing up or pooping in the crate like my son's cat who hates to travel half a mile to his vet...
I miss our cat--he had CKD and some other issues his last year--but my husband has said no more cats--and likely after our dog goes, we won't get another dog...
That way we can just fly to FL vs having to spend 2 days dawn/dusk driving--
That is hard on my husband who is very good driver but almost 70...
We have 2nd home--don't really need to take lot of stuff back and forth--
My husband and I have been retired about 4 years. I suppose you’ve heard the old joke about when life begins? It’s when your last kid leaves for college and the dog dies.
We resisted getting a pet for 2 years after retirement, because we did not want to be tied down. Hubby got a part time job, so we hardly ever go anywhere. Finally, I wore him down, because I missed having something to fuss over. My kids and grandkids are not nearby. So we got a 3 yr old dachshund from foster and we really enjoy him. When we visit friends or family, he comes along. We are in a very dog friendly area, so he can go to any restaurant with a patio if we want to take him. The choice of dog is very important, though. Ours stays right next us us, even off leash, he doesn’t bark much and he’s very mellow. I would not want an active, labor intensive dog now.
We just got back from a trip for a funeral, so our dog went to a kennel for the first time. We worried about him the whole time, but he was good while there, and seemingly unfazed. Now that we know that, we will consider a few short trips where he cannot go.
What I’m saying is...give yourself a pet free time and see how you feel. You might be fine forever, but as a women with no babies to fuss over, I enjoy my dog.
My husband is a cat person, and I am adamant about no more cats.
There is no answer to your question by someone else, since we really don’t know YOU.
My wife and I retired in 2011. I am now 68 and my wife is 66. During our 44 year marriage, we always had a dog and a cat(sometimes 2 cats). Our two kids were raised with dogs and cats.
The last cat we had died/disappeared in 2012, and of the 14 cats we had she was the worst. She was really a wild animal, and scratched and peed on anything she wanted. We finally tossed her out, but kept feeding her and petting her. In 2004 we adopted a 18 month Labrador who died last Monday(euthanized due to end stage chronic kidney disease, blindness, inability to get up, falling down often while walking, dementia. But for 13 years he was the sweetest dog in the world. If I was as sweet as that dog, I would be instantly canonized at death.
And so rather than see how long we can last without a pet, and knowing it wouldn’t be more than 6 months...we got a shelter cat on Saturday. She is slowly adjusting to a life in a house with people after two months in a cage at the SPCA. And we having a pending Adoption/purchase of a chocolate Labrador Retriever puppy, who is now about 1 week old. The puppy was born almost at the same time that our saintly dog died.
We know that we can not survive with out both a cat and a dog.
My first cat, Sally was a found cat, got her when I was 6. She had two litters and I kept one of those, Boots. Sally lived for 21 years. Sally and Boots slept in my bed for a decade as I grew up. I have good memories of those cats.
When my wife and I lived in SoCal we had two cats. Lily and Bubi (both named after WWII combat aces) but both of them died after a few years. Bubi was killed by coyotes and Lily, depressed as she was, got hit by a car a few weeks later. Our next cat in SoCal was Norton. He was a pretty rad cat, but also got taken by coyotes the day before we moved from California to Washington State.
The last cat we had was for my oldest son. Scrapey. He was a ****ty cat. Glad to have gotten rid of him. We've owned couple of dogs as well, some fish, and a hamster.
Now we have no more pets and it's amazing. My house stunk no matter what kind of pet I had. I stunk, like whatever pet I had.
I don't get the fetishization of pets that people have now. I understand that lonely people really really really enjoy having pets.
I don't like animals that much and I typically am not a fan of a lot of pet owners. In particular the ones that let their dogs **** all over the neighborhood and never pick it up and the white trash ones who bring their animals into whatever store they're in.
I'm glad you enjoy your cat though, I see animals bring a lot of joy to a lot of people. I don't like your cat though.
I was referring only to your statement I bolded about people wanting to have something that worships their existence, not anything else you stated. Cats don't worship people. If I wanted my cat to worship me, I would get a dog.
It's okay if you don't like my cat. No offense taken.
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We've always had dogs. They provide great companionship and entertainment. They also motivate us to go for walks.
Around 2005, to make a long story short, we ended up with 3 mini-dachshunds.
They are now slowing down and we have retired. I never thought about how they would make travel difficult after retirement. Since they live for about 14 years, we still have a few years to go. We have never thought about any plans other than to keep caring for them until their demise.
Dogs have a lifespan that is inversely proportional to their size, i.e. the small ones live longer:
I anticipate my wife falling in love with a new puppy
Pros: Dogs give companionship, unconditional love, built-in burglar alarm, motivation to exercise, and frequent amusement.
Cons: If you want to travel, you have to hire somebody to come over every day to care for them. And you can expect unplanned, expensive vet bills. They also require daily maintenance; feeding, drinking, pooping, blocking off areas of the house, etc.
Furthermore, if you plan to move to a retirement community, they may not be allowed and they will certainly need to adapt to closer quarters. They would be likely to annoy neighbors with whom you share a common wall or fence. That sets a trap. Here, we're stuck in our way too big house because it includes a fully fenced yard. It's great for the dogs but a pain to maintain.
I think I'm in the camp of no more dogs. The challenge will be getting my lovely wife to agree.
What are your thoughts and experiences?
I've had 7 cats, 2 dogs, tropical saltwater and fresh water fish, an iguana and probably one or two more pets.
I'm at a stage of life where, when our current 19 ( yes 19) year old indoor cat passes, I want NO MORE Pets.
Trying to get my OH to agree is another matter.
1) all pets do after living with you a whole lot, is well, die on you.
2) get bills are getting to be astronomical
3) cats you can leave for a few days, but a dog you cannot. I want to be able to go somewhere and not worry over a pet.
My OH wants a miniature dog we can "take with us in a bag on a plane"....but as I pointed out, WHERE does it do it's business on a longer flight? In the bag? No, it would have to be left behind, and someone to care for it. Or kenneled.
4) when we start snowbirding, it will have to probably be sedated.
Nope, I think I've had enough.
Our best friends wife is totally beyond having more children, so she wants puppies and kittens. They have 3 dogs and 2 cats and she wants another one!!! He is early medically retired, and is stuck taking care of them. He has finally ( I hope) put his foot down on THAT note.
I have a room full of plants I'm not sure about what to do with when the time comes to snowbird. They are my babies now, but if they die I just throw them out....
Nope, convince your OH NO MORE PETS if that is your position.
I want freedom, and that does.t include a creature who is dependent on me.
My OH wants a miniature dog we can "take with us in a bag on a plane"....but as I pointed out, WHERE does it do it's business on a longer flight? In the bag? No, it would have to be left behind, and someone to care for it. Or kenneled.
I thought people take larger dogs on plane flights, and the dogs are crated and put in the underneath belly of the plane in storage.
I have no knowledge on this - fill me in. Is that accurate or not?
And then in recent years, I've read that people take small dogs with them in the regular seats of the plane in small crates. Yes? or no?
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