Dogs and Cats
Not a week goes by when my 91 year old mother says ‘when are
you going to get a dog? You need a dog’. She’s not alone. Several of our friends enquire about the same
thing as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. And to them, it is.
I grew up with dogs.
I’m in my late 60’s and there have been scant few times when I haven’t
had a dog. I’ve also had a cat, but I’m more
a dog person.
Pet ownership is common in the US with some 2/3rds of all
households having pets (according to the American Pet Products Association).
Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Russia also have fairly high percentages of
household pets. It’s a thing that most
of us take for granted.
When Indy, Leigh’s dog passed away, we went through the
normal mourning period but there was no rush to replace him and now we’ve been
some 5 years without a dog and have asked ourselves numerous times “should we
get a dog”. The answer was initially a ‘no’,
then a ‘No’, and now borders on “Hell No” (at least for now). Why the increasingly aversion to having a
dog?
Life is better without a dog (gasp). At least for us, and at least for now.
We love dogs and eagerly anticipate babysitting Harley, Leigh’s
‘Grand dog’. We tolerated, but came to (somewhat)
enjoy taking care of Tater, an elderly neighbors dog. Blind, deaf, toothless, quasi incontinent and
prone to seizures, having Tater wasn’t easy, but he grew on us. We had him for nearly 2 months in two different
chunks of time as our neighbor battled health issues.
We know dogs. We’ve
trained dogs. We’ve had good experiences
with dogs and have known some really great dogs. We aren’t anti dog. At all.
But a dog is a responsibility. A
big one. And they come with personal and
social costs.
On the micro level, a
dog changes the way you live. A dog is
expensive and occasionally, at unplanned times, very expensive. Travel comes with
more logistics, more considerations and more expense. Impromptu trips in the trailer become a
little more problematic. National Parks don’t
allow dogs. Trips on the boat come with
multiple trips ashore. Trips on the kayak
are linked to finding a dog sitter. Same
for many backpacking trips.
We’re empty nesters.
The eggs have hatched, been raised, and have flown the the coop. Why would we want to put a furry one back in? One that sheds, barks, and fouls the yard? Yes they are cute, yes they are smart, yes,
they offer companionship, but they still shed, bark and foul the yard. They certainly don’t simplify life. They complicate it. It’s a personal decision and a personal calculation
on whether that complication is worth it or not, but after 5 dog free years,
our answer, at the present, is ‘no, it’s not worth it’.
On a macro level, dogs have a large carbon footprint. The meat consumption of pets produces 64 million
tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of 13.6 million cars. Dog waste can contaminate soil and bodies of
water for years. Bacteria in pet poop
can reduce oxygen and kill aquatic life.
Most plastic bags used to scoop up poop are not biodegradable. In the US, an estimated 634 million dog toys
end up in landfills each year, roughly 40,500 tons of waste. The pet food industry and its industrial meat
production is a major cause of deforestation.
If pets were their own country, they would rank 5th in global
meat production.
Pets have a negative impact on the environment (as do we).
For us, at present, the mobility and lack of friction for ad
hoc outings have a greater priority than a need for the furry companionship. Decisions like ‘oh let’s stay another day’
are easy. We don’t miss a dog. Yet.
