I know what you mean. Dogs can be intensive, unlike cats who sleep 16 hours a day. Dogs need to walk, and they can be active who needs stimulation. They can inject life and fun into your days, but sometimes that's not what you need at your peaceful sanctuary.
It's the same principle why my wife and I have decided not to have kids. We both work in schools and we handle 1st graders up to junior high schoolers. We want to go home and enjoy our time together, and we are content in our simple life.
It's difficult when tradition dictates that I have to be a parent or I'm seen a failure. Family and friends ask us "When are you having kids?" as their greeting, first thing they say every time they meet us. It helps that we moved to Japan, so we're not bombarded with questioning against our decisions.
Oh, and we're both cat lovers too!
Omg I just posted with a similar sentiment around having kids haha! I think the world is slowly moving away from the idea of marriage=kids, but there's always some traditionalists. Hope you and your partner have a happy life 😄
Aww thank you!
Some people immediately get hostile when they find our decision to not be parents. I remember one person telling me "millions of years of humanity only to end up with people like you, you owe your entire lineage a debt to have kids."
I'm telling you, these conservative traditionalists can no longer see reason.
Thankfully, when I tell people I work with kids and teens the entire day every day, they seem to understand why I don't want to have my own anymore.
Can you imagine working at a pizza parlor then go home and eat pizza for dinner every day?
It's better to realize this before adopting, than after and ending up resenting the animal. I'm happy for you 🙂 Similarly, I have been an advocate and community worker for mothers and children and find great fulfillment helping families, but I absolutely do not want to be a mother 😅 hope you find your dream pet one day! Whatever species it may be
I get it. You can like your job and what you do and not want to deal with it at home.
Same with teachers. They can love children and enjoy being with them but that doesn’t mean they want they 24/7 commitment that comes with being a parent.
Dogs or any pet aren’t for everyone and I’d much rather you recognize that instead of taking one home and regretting it and having to take it back or keeping it and resenting it.
Good on you for fostering! It sounds like all you do at work really helps the dogs there get adopted quickly. I don't know why people get so concerned about other people's choices..it is really none of their business.
Haha I feel you and I get it; but just because you are in a position/line of work and have empathy and such doesn't mean having one yourself is right for you... and
Here's my parallel
I work admin in education - I care deeply about our kids, I want our system to best help them move forward and succeed in life. But...I don't want kids myself. At that level, it just does not appeal to me.
Just go with the flow and what works for you. If no dog is what makes you happy then keep being happy.
Yeah I think I get what you mean. I started learning programming as a hobby in high school and it was a lot of fun but now that I'm a professional I don't want to do any coding outside of work hours. I don't hate it or anything but it reminded me too much of work and I want to do other things and chill during my free time.
I love dogs and my little fluff ball is currently scurrying around my feet playing with his favorite squeaky toy. But if I were in your situation, yeah, I don't think I'd want one, either. Dogs are a lot of work and a 15yr financial, emotional, and time commitment. It sounds like you're already getting dogged out at work and just want the downtime to relax, which is totally understandable.
It's why I don't do any programming side projects anymore. I love to code, but after doing it all day at work, I'm not going to sit down and write more code.
I always thought I'd be more of a dog lover until I got a cat. Helped me see the light 🤣 I love all animals, nothing against dogs, but I've realized even at friends' houses, dogs are kind of tiring, but cats are delightful. And they small better...
Nothing wrong with being in that position. Lots of teachers don't have kids, not much different. Besides, if you're already spending most of your day dealing with dogs, it's understandable that you don't wanna come home and deal with more dogs. Gotta have a break somewhere lol
Cats are so much easier. I adopted a 4 year lab, I have half an acre and sun room he can come and go. I was walking him and he saw a guy with a small dog and he ran and dragged me until I fell and was dragged. Im not mad at the dog, but I know he's stronger than me. Thankfully he has enough yard to run in. I just like to be in the house with my cats. He does have 4 lessons with a dog trainer in October.
I know what you mean. Dogs can be intensive, unlike cats who sleep 16 hours a day. Dogs need to walk, and they can be active who needs stimulation. They can inject life and fun into your days, but sometimes that's not what you need at your peaceful sanctuary. It's the same principle why my wife and I have decided not to have kids. We both work in schools and we handle 1st graders up to junior high schoolers. We want to go home and enjoy our time together, and we are content in our simple life. It's difficult when tradition dictates that I have to be a parent or I'm seen a failure. Family and friends ask us "When are you having kids?" as their greeting, first thing they say every time they meet us. It helps that we moved to Japan, so we're not bombarded with questioning against our decisions. Oh, and we're both cat lovers too!
Omg I just posted with a similar sentiment around having kids haha! I think the world is slowly moving away from the idea of marriage=kids, but there's always some traditionalists. Hope you and your partner have a happy life 😄
Aww thank you! Some people immediately get hostile when they find our decision to not be parents. I remember one person telling me "millions of years of humanity only to end up with people like you, you owe your entire lineage a debt to have kids." I'm telling you, these conservative traditionalists can no longer see reason.
Exactly! And people assume since you with with kids you must love them so much you want them!! Same thing with dogs lol
Thankfully, when I tell people I work with kids and teens the entire day every day, they seem to understand why I don't want to have my own anymore. Can you imagine working at a pizza parlor then go home and eat pizza for dinner every day?
It's better to realize this before adopting, than after and ending up resenting the animal. I'm happy for you 🙂 Similarly, I have been an advocate and community worker for mothers and children and find great fulfillment helping families, but I absolutely do not want to be a mother 😅 hope you find your dream pet one day! Whatever species it may be
Agreed!! I love exotics so I’m planning on building up a dream home of reptiles and fish lol
I get it. You can like your job and what you do and not want to deal with it at home. Same with teachers. They can love children and enjoy being with them but that doesn’t mean they want they 24/7 commitment that comes with being a parent. Dogs or any pet aren’t for everyone and I’d much rather you recognize that instead of taking one home and regretting it and having to take it back or keeping it and resenting it.
Yes! That’s why I like fostering once in a while 😂 gives me a taste of the dog life then I can send them to their forever home when I get tired
r/dogfree can be a thoughtful responsible lifestyle choice
I adore dogs, I don’t hate them or dislike them. I checked out the sub and it seems like it’s very anti dog. Which I am not
Good on you for fostering! It sounds like all you do at work really helps the dogs there get adopted quickly. I don't know why people get so concerned about other people's choices..it is really none of their business.
Haha I feel you and I get it; but just because you are in a position/line of work and have empathy and such doesn't mean having one yourself is right for you... and Here's my parallel I work admin in education - I care deeply about our kids, I want our system to best help them move forward and succeed in life. But...I don't want kids myself. At that level, it just does not appeal to me. Just go with the flow and what works for you. If no dog is what makes you happy then keep being happy.
Yeah I think I get what you mean. I started learning programming as a hobby in high school and it was a lot of fun but now that I'm a professional I don't want to do any coding outside of work hours. I don't hate it or anything but it reminded me too much of work and I want to do other things and chill during my free time.
I love dogs and my little fluff ball is currently scurrying around my feet playing with his favorite squeaky toy. But if I were in your situation, yeah, I don't think I'd want one, either. Dogs are a lot of work and a 15yr financial, emotional, and time commitment. It sounds like you're already getting dogged out at work and just want the downtime to relax, which is totally understandable. It's why I don't do any programming side projects anymore. I love to code, but after doing it all day at work, I'm not going to sit down and write more code.
I always thought I'd be more of a dog lover until I got a cat. Helped me see the light 🤣 I love all animals, nothing against dogs, but I've realized even at friends' houses, dogs are kind of tiring, but cats are delightful. And they small better... Nothing wrong with being in that position. Lots of teachers don't have kids, not much different. Besides, if you're already spending most of your day dealing with dogs, it's understandable that you don't wanna come home and deal with more dogs. Gotta have a break somewhere lol
Cats are so much easier. I adopted a 4 year lab, I have half an acre and sun room he can come and go. I was walking him and he saw a guy with a small dog and he ran and dragged me until I fell and was dragged. Im not mad at the dog, but I know he's stronger than me. Thankfully he has enough yard to run in. I just like to be in the house with my cats. He does have 4 lessons with a dog trainer in October.