Making a Furry Friend Part of the Family
What to know before you adopt
Bringing a pet into your family is a joyous event, but if you don’t plan well, the joy can quickly turn into stress. This isn’t a decision to make lightly or on the spur of the moment (because you happen upon someone offering up free kittens, for example). Do some research, discuss the decision as a family, and spend some time with friends’ pets before making what should be a lifelong commitment to providing a home for an animal. And if you — or anyone in your family — has known allergies, you’ll want to do even more research into finding an animal that doesn’t trigger symptoms, including getting advice from your doctor about the best pets for you. Here is a checklist to help you sort through the details before welcoming a furry family member into your home:
- Look at the long view. The average life span for most dogs is between 10 and 15 years, and up to 20 years for cats. When you commit to making a pet part of your family, you need to think realistically about how that will impact your life for the next decade or two — and make sure you’re ready to take on that obligation.
- Check out different breeds and species. Even if you have pet allergies, not all animals will cause the same symptoms. Spend time with a variety of animals to see if you can find a species or breed that you are not allergic to. It could be as simple as adopting a dog instead of a cat, if you find that your symptoms are mostly triggered by felines, or perhaps a fish or lizard if you are allergic to furry animals.
- Work the costs of pet care into your budget. Even if you adopt your pet for little or no cost, suddenly having another mouth to feed can add up. Make sure there’s room in your family’s food budget for your pet’s supplies. Also factor in spaying or neutering, annual vet checkups, vaccinations, grooming, tags, collars, toys and emergency medical costs that may crop up if your pet gets sick or injured.
- Examine your surroundings and lifestyle. Is your home pet-friendly? Make sure animals are allowed where you live and that you’ll be able to easily accommodate the pet’s need to go outside. And think about your lifestyle. If you travel a lot, plan ahead for how you will deal with pet sitting. If no one is home all day, think about what kind of arrangements you’ll need to make to ensure that your pet is fed and walked as needed. And if you’re adopting a dog, know how much exercise the breed requires. If you’re a big runner, look for a dog that will relish the workout. If you won’t be able to do more than a walk around the block, pick a pet that’s happy with that level of activity.
- Make sure everyone in the family is on board. Adding a family member should be a family decision. Discuss what roles everyone will be expected to play once the pet joins the family — who will do walks, feeding, and cleaning up after the pet. And for dogs, at least one person in the family will need to take charge of training — consider working with a professional trainer or taking a class (another expense to factor into the budget). If any family members have pet allergies, make sure that the new pet isn’t going to cause them any problems.
- Talk to your doctor. If you are worried that having an animal in the house will cause allergy symptoms for you or someone else in the family, discuss it with your doctor before you adopt a pet. A doctor will be able to help steer you toward pets that won’t trigger your specific symptoms and give you tips for coping if any allergy symptoms do develop.
