You are getting great advice from everyone. This is your decision and as long as you have thought it out carefully you will make the right choice.
I love animals but have always made choices about which ones to care for by thinking about the sort of life the little thing would have living with me.
I didn't go to college as I was already a single mother at 18, growing up the most we were allowed to have were goldfish and once a tortoise whom I loved.
When my daughter was quite young she had various goldfish and then a hamster to help her learn about the responsibility of looking after a pet. I waited until she was 9 to get our cat, gizmo who was part of our lives for 13 years. When he died we were heartbroken for a long time.
By then I was married and Wanted another cat but my husband preferred dogs, all 3 of us worked or were at university full time so I didn't want to bring a little furry baby into our lives and abandon them every day, I wanted my pet to be happy (cats don't really care if you are there or not as long as when you are there you serve their every whim and provide a warm lap when they want
it). We compromised and got a Cockatiel and then a budgie. My budgie got hurt when having a Night terror and we brought him to the emergency vet, it cost equal to $180 for the vet to give him a whiff of pain killer and tell us there was no hope, we brought him home and he died in my hand a few hours later, I was again heartbroken, then further agonised as my Cockatiel, looked and called for his friend, we got another Budgie but it took quite a while for our Cockatiel to settle and I worried about him every day. During all this time we often discussed getting a dog but I held firm that I didn't think it would be fair for a little dog to be left alone when we worked.
Then, in September last year my husband surprised me with Alfie, I absolutely adore him and would never be without him. I think that my logic and reason have deprived me of such a sweet and special relationship for all the years that I never gave in to getting a dog.
I am by no means wealthy, we work normal jobs and Alfie has had a lot of issues, we have had vet visits every 2 weeks and it all adds up, he is insured but it doesn't cover any of his treatments as we started the condition before a specific wait period, the money is not important, I know that I would go without to make sure he is getting the care he needs. Even now I know that I will not have him for ever and don't know how my life would be without him.
So if you have managed to get to the end of this post, think that you have the financial and emotional strength to give a little dog everything he needs no matter what that costs you and can give up a lot of the social aspect of college life because your Yorkie needs you then you will be rewarded 1000 times over by their unconditional love and (sometimes yucky) puppy breath kisses.
Hugs n' stuff |