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Originally Posted by serenity63  Everyone else has told you the pros of keeping your puppy, I'm going to tell you the cons.
I think that having a puppy is a lot tougher than an adult dog but in my opinion there will always be sacrifices. It's like having a baby that will never really grow up, kids as they grow learn to do things for themselves, dogs don't. Perhaps you need a lower maintenance pet or perhaps no pet at all. If you give up your pup now you will probably feel very wretched for a while but better in the long run and your pooch as it is still a puppy will have a better chance of finding a good home.
Because you mentioned a few of the expenses you are facing I'm going to talk to you about money, dogs are expensive. My furball is going to cost me 1K, over a 15 year life span his health insurance will cost about 7K not including preventive and maintenace care not covered by the health insurance ... let's say another 3K over his lifetime. That alone comes out to 11K. Also to consider things they need like grooming or grooming supplies, FOOD, and other basic items such as food bowls, bedding, crates, toys, clothes, ... I estimate a very optimistic 9K over his lifetime for this kind of thing. Total of about 20K over a lifetime but it could end up being more, hardly any chance of it being less. Unless I were to cut health insurance all togheter but if I did that and the dog had need of expensive medical care two or three trips to the vet could end up costing just as much as the health insurance would over a lifetime. And on top of all that money, your time effort and care will be required as well. I'm not rich and I don't have lots of money laying around, that is the case with most people. We can't just dispense with the money but we are prepared to make the effort and the sacrifice in exchange for the love of a pooch but it is a big sacrifice.
This speech is not meant to frighten you or bully you into giving up your baby, I just think that having a dog is not for everyone, it could end up making you a lot more unhappy than happy. If at this point you decide to keep him, it'll be true love. If instead you decide to give him up you will save yourself and the puppy a lot of heartache. |
Thanks for your comments. I think others have explained pretty well what I'm going through - the puppy blues. I guess it's a little like post-partum depression with a human baby (although there are no hormones involved).
I felt overwhelmed the last time we got a dog, but it got better. I think I can make it through this. I just wish everyone in my family understood and loved dogs as much as I do. If they did, planning a vacation together would be much easier.
And we are prepared for the expense of having a pet. We spent a lot of money on our last dog, and couldn't make his life better afterall and ended up having to put him to sleep when he was just 5 years young. But he brought us a lot of joy. My in-laws always kept him when we went on trips, so that was no problem. But now they are having health difficulties and may not be able to help. Now I need to find someone else I can trust to watch Logan, and that is the hard part.