Nothing makes me more pissed off than when people get pets in college.
It’s not that I hate pets or that I don’t like animals; what I hate are the irresponsible owners who get pets and then don’t train them, take care of them, or worse, abuse them.
Whether you live in a dorm, apartment, or house, if you’re thinking about getting a pet this semester, you may want to think twice. We have ALL been there; I myself have had fish, hampsters, and was about $50 away from getting a cat my freshman year.
But I will tell you from my own experience and from others that I know who have had pets in college, that getting a pet is a HUGE responsibility, expense, and hassle.
You may think it’s a good idea because it never seemed like a big deal at home, but that is probably because your PARENTS were the ones pulling the majority of the weight.
Trust me, you do not want a pet while in college and here is why:
1. Pet Expenses
The biggest thing with getting a pet are the expenses associated with it. First you have to buy the pet itself; if it’s a dog (especially a pure bred) this can run you anywhere from a few hundred dollars to somewhere in the thousands. Cats are not cheap either; pet store cats can be a couple hundred dollars too.
Aside from the pet itself, you have to buy all of it’s accessories, food, bedding, toys, etc. If you think any of the aforementioned are cheap, think again. The cage and bedding alone will set you back at LEAST $150-$200.
Don’t forget the vet bill! You have to get your pet shots, fixed, pay for medicines if it’s sick, regular checkups, etc. Do you really want to foot those expensive bills when you can barely afford Domino’s Pizza for dinner?
2. Ownership
While you and your roommate may think it is a perfectly logical solution to split the cost of your new pet, this solution only begs one question: who owns your furry friend?
Who takes the pet over vacations? Who takes the pet upon graduation? Who pays the vet bill when the other person can’t afford their end? Who is ultimately responsible? Do you see where I am going with this?
3. Doodie Duty
Who is going to be the one cleaning up the inevitable “accidents” in your kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom, or anywhere else your pet happens to roam? Who is in charge of the litter box? Emptying it each week?
I can tell you from experience that sifting through crumbled clay and picking out pieces of crap is not something you want to be doing on a Tuesday night.
How about when the garbage is knocked over and there is sauce, take-out containers, and dip spit bottles lying around? Who is going to pick up that mess? If your roommate doesn’t help to clean up as it is, this new pet will only add to the mess.
What about when your pet pukes or coughs up a hairball; are you going to clean it up or scrape it off the rug/couch?
4. Responsibility
As if you don’t have enough to worry about in college, do you really want to be responsible for another being’s life? You have to be responsible for being home to take your pet out to go to the bathroom which can be many times when your pet is a baby.
You are responsible for feeding, bathing, walking, training, and keeping it healthy. Think you’re ready for that kind of responsibility when you can’t even wake up and get to class on time?
5. Room to Breathe
Whether you want to party on the weekends, travel to visit a friend, sleep in, throw a party, have a girl/guy sleepover, have friends stay the night, or whatever you want to do, you don’t want your pet interfering with any of that.
What if one of your friends (or potential hookup) is ALLERGIC? (“Oh, sorry we can’t hookup because I have a dog that will cause your throat to close up the second you walk through the door”).
What if you want to throw a party but the dog will get upset by the noise, or worse, someone will abuse it/let it out during the party and it could get hurt? What is someone lets the dog out and it runs into the road and gets hit by a car?
What if you, your roommate, or both of you want to go away for the weekend; who takes care of the dog/cat? Who feeds it/takes it out?
Aside from all of this, what about the pet? Doesn’t it deserve a yard to play in and room to breathe? Does your pet really deserve to be cooped up in a cage or apartment all day while you are at class? That is not fair at all and as a matter of fact, it’s cruel.
If you have a pet, all of these things need to be considered as reasons why you should not commit yourself to such a huge responsibility, expense, and like i said, HASSLE!
Trust me, it’s not worth it. You have all the time in the world to get a pet after graduation and deal with all this sh*t later when you no longer have a social life and you can force your kids to take care of it.
