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Old Dogs Are The New Babies
Did you know that more young couples are opting for dogs these days? The TV news says so, so it's probably true. And rather than choose puppies, they are picking older dogs, who are less active, easier to take care of and (well?) aren't going to be a burden for that many years. I'm sure it says something about who we are now that the well-off are eschewing the millstone that is parenting in favor of a stint with a pet, but given the damage we do to the children we actually have, this is probably all for the best.
I don't think they've thought this through. They are going to be sad when their older dog die soon but not before costing a lot in vet fees. Do you know what vets charge these days? It's like people.
@Trilby
Still cheaper than 18+ years of food, clothing and shelter, followed by private university tuition and "everyone else's parents are helping them buy a starter apartment."
@Trilby So you blow $5K on vet fees every 8-10 years or so. That's still way cheaper than kids. Unless you get one of those nervous dogs that chews up and destroys everything, then it's like having a kid who at least doesn't need college paid for.
The dogs are just a dress rehearsal for having kids.
Also, why dogs? For the activity factor? Cats are the greatest biological clock snooze button ever invented.
"They're so much better than puppies. I do not understand why people opt for puppies. Unless they're total chumps. And ugly."
Hot couple! Avoiding parenting will preserve their hotness! Good story!
Finally a trend piece that relates to ME! Two years ago I adopted a 10 year old spaniel. He's blind, selectively deaf and smells like cornchips you maybe left in the garbage for a while and his favorite things are sleeping, eating and peeing. He completes me.
Idiocracy.
This was from the Onion, right?
As somebody who supports a radical and precipitous decline in dog ownership everywhere, this is more bad news.
Everybody is assigned to read "Pack of Two" by Carolyn Knapp. There will be a test.
Parents of actual children wish there were some way to skip that first part too.
I like to think of my children as my dogs. There's a whole lot of stained carpets, idiotically loud noises, and of course the shifty-eyed silences which follow the question, "omg, what the hell just happened in here?" after a room appears to have blown up after a 5 minute abscence.