Do you regret owning a pet?

Never. I have had some pets that are more difficult than others, and sometimes it was inconvenient having pets, but I have never regretted it. The positives by far outweigh the negatives for me.
I have been fortunate in that I’ve never had an overly aggressive pet.

Never

I’ve only owned fish so far. I’m sure that’s not exactly what you’re looking for, lol. Keeping an aquarium is almost more of a science than it is pet ownership, and when i was still learning the ropes I made some bad decisions with regards to what fish I bought.

One time I bought several varieties of a schooling fish thinking the different varieties would school together, but they didn’t, and then they seemed unhappy because they didn’t have a proper school. In that instance I did find someone who was willing and gave a few fish away to her. This freed up space in my tank which allowed me to buy more of the right variety and make a proper school. They seem way happier now.

In another instance I bought females of a livebearer species. I thought I was being responsible by only buying females, so they wouldn’t have babies, but they were already pregnant when I got them. What a mess that was. 50+ babies that I had no space for, and I couldn’t find enough people to pawn them off onto. I eventually was able to give the babies to a fish store.

Keeping fish is weird, but wonderful. I love the hobby so much. But mistakes will be made when you’re a newbie.

nope. i have had 2 dogs and 5 cats at various times in my adult life. never regretted it one bit.

@Mariah it counts. Every living animal counts.

I could not even begin to imagine parting with our chihuahua. We had to find our yorkie a new home because my wife was allergic to it. That was hard enough.

We had a cat for a while, sounds bad but when it ran off and did not come back we did not even consider getting another. It was actually a relief.

I used to keep aquariums also and have actually had fish regret. I brought home a few baby oscars without realizing just how f’ing big they would get. Upgraded to a 30 gallon then a 60 if I remember. I still felt like they were too confined.

I guess I’m the big meanie. I regret having our current cat.

I didn’t want her in the first place, but my wife did. A friend of hers needed a place for the cat to stay for “just a few days” after she was found as a malnourished little kitten with all kinds of problems. So I got tricked and then once it was in the house, my wife promised the moon and stars if it could stay. I would never need to do anything for it and the wife’s heart would be filled with joy at the sight of it each morning. Or something.

I know people will say it’s about how it’s raised, but I’ve had three cats now, and this one is just mean. She’ll be laying in your lap and decide she doesn’t want to be pet anymore. She’ll let you know by making you bleed. She still wants to stay in your lap though. We had to get her front claws removed because she was attacking everyone’s legs when they’d walk around the house. We taken her a couple places to get her groomed and they’ll only do it if she’s sedated, but she throws those pills up, so I trim her hair a little at a time during summer. A Maine Coon in Texas needs a trim.

She’s 14 now, and more mellow, but no more friendly. I’ve fed and changed her litter box every time and taken care of her since my wife first got pregnant 10 years ago. My wife wanted to drop her off at the pound about 5 years ago, and I said I didn’t think that was right, so she’s effectively mine now. We don’t let the kids touch her and my oldest is actively afraid of her.

I’m her favorite, but she still would rather I didn’t acknowledge her, throws up on my pillow, and yowls whenever she can see the bottom of her food bowl (even if there’s plenty in there).

She’s just not a very nice cat, and I regret having her, but don’t regret not sending her to the pound.

^^hahaha just like my old cat. Right down to the barfing on my pillow. It was a feral kitten we rescued. Cats that have been ferel for a couple generations are different, they have partially reverted back to being wild animals and don’t make good house pets. What a mean spirited wild beast that thing was.

I have never regretted having cats as pets.

I have never chosen to have another species as a pet, er except captive ants and tadpoles and fish (both of which died in tank, kind of regretted that).

I have “gone along” (or at least not fled the living arrangement) with women I was with getting other species as pets, which generally didn’t go well and which I would have regretted were they my choice to regret. These were birds and a rodent, and a visiting dog, in houses with cats. Most of the non-canines died one way or another. A couple of lucky birds got to be released before they would’ve died in captivity.

Sometimes. I am a huge animal lover but I’d be lying if I said sometimes it would be nice to not run home after work to let the dogs out or walk them, before going to the grocery store. Or not postponing a vacation because the kennel has no openings available. Or not having to stop at the pet store for food on a stormy nasty day.

I love them but they are a responsibility that I take very seriously.

No. But we’re facing the end for our two beloved dogs, Dutchess and Dakota, and that hurts. I will never get another dog.

@Dutchess_III Sorry babe.

They are both spoiled rotten now.

Despite the difficulties and being tied down by them, NO. I may whinge, whine and whimper about the duties constantly but I do not regret having my two dogs. They are part of the family though they ARE hard work no doubt.

@Dutchess_III, never say never. You may welcome a new friend after the poor souls’ departure.

Nah.

After Lexi died, I said NEVER AGAIN. I got Molly within 2 months. When Molly died, I said Never Again. Within 6 months I got Jessie.

I wasn’t even thinking of having a bad pet or a mean pet. Lol. I love the mean cat story.

I was just thinking more in terms of the responsibility, and the problems with having to let the dog out when you’d rather stay another hour at the party, or finding a kennel, or someone to feed the cat, etc., when you want to travel.

I have a friend who keeps thinking about getting a dog, and I keep telling her not to. I think she’s crazy to take on that responsibility now (I won’t go into her situation) but I also think she will love having her dog as an excuse not to do things. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. I’m sure she will probably benefit from the affection from the dog though.

@chyna :) I know so many people who have said never again and wind up with another again.

Nope nope nope nope. My pup sleeps with me every single night. I have a hard time falling asleep if he isn’t with me.

No, never. I have only had two pets, a dog when I was a kid and a cat much later. I never wanted the cat but following a divorce she ended up in my care. Pets become part of the family and I have no regrets. She was well looked after and I ended up taking her with me to Alabama and a lifestyle she much preferred to chilly Scotland.

I know, @chyna, I HATE HATE HATE being without a dog in the house.

I did just fine for 5 years after my 15 year old Snuffy died, until Rick moved in.

Only twice have I ever had a pet that I couldn’t keep.
The first time was when a friend of my husbands gave him a dog. We were newly married and I had never raised a dog. He gave us a puppy that was too young to be weaned from its mother. It was terrified and had the runs and we didn’t have money to properly care for it. So we gave it back after 2 days.
The second time was a cat. I regretted getting it only because I had no idea my young daughter was severely allergic to cats. It put her in ICU after having the cat for a month. I loved the cat but I wasn’t going to choose keeping it over her health. I really regretted getting the cat when it almost killed her. I had to get rid of the cat and clean the house from top to bottom and get rid of all traces of the cat.

Both times I didn’t regret it because of the animal. I just regretted that I couldn’t keep them. Especially the cat. I didn’t bond to the dog and my husband just sprang it on me. I had never had a dog so I didn’t know it was weaned too young and it wasnt’ ready for dog food. It had runs all over the house and would cry all night long.

But I bonded with the cat so it was sad to take him back to the pound. I couldn’t find anyone who would take him on such short notice. He was such a good kitty. I hoped he had a fine life. The kids missed him too, but my daughters life is definitely more important.

But since then I have had two dogs. One passed away and one I have now. I think the only regret I have is they don’t live as long as people, so you eventually have to say good bye and it’s heartbreaking to say good bye. But other than that. I have no real regrets. The downsides are small compare to the upside of having a loving pet.

Yes. We got a dog (I didn’t want to, but was outvoted and wanted everyone else to be happy). It became a source of family stress and we actually went to family therapy over it. In the end, we took the therapist’s advice and found a great rescue organization that specialized in black dogs (because they’re more difficult to find families to adopt). We were all instantly relieved once the dog was gone.

@Cupcake ! Hi!

How could having a dog stress the whole family out?

@Dutchess_III He was too active and large for our home/family. Our quarters were too tight. He took over our dining room (and we couldn’t fit a table elsewhere). And we had a baby, so everyone was gated into different rooms. Also our yard was too small and the other family members soon tired to walking him and taking his rambunctious ass to a park.

For reference, we were 4 people (including a baby) in a 100 year old 1400 sq ft urban home on a 1/10 acre lot. He was a 90 lb active 2 year old lab. I think it would have been great if we could have gotten past the active stage…

Ultimately, he tore his ACL (or something like it) in the back yard, which was a common injury for his breed. It was likely that he would tear one in another leg. We just couldn’t afford the surgeries.

For me, the takeaway is that we are not dog people. Possibly not pet people.

This was very stressful and embarrassing. LIke we literally went to therapy over it.

We are looking for a new rental home/apartment and having pets is making this very difficult. This is one of the few times I regret having pets. We refuse to part with them but I often daydream of the perfect homes we are missing out on because of our pets.

I am grateful for our two dogs trying to save me from a stinkbug right now.

Oh My God! You got a LAB??? I had a lab once. It ate my back yard. I’m not even kidding. I would go over that yard with a fine toothed comb and pull anything that could be chewed up out….so then Asa ate my metal swinging glider. If you do this again, consider a smaller dog, like a cocker spaniel.

@Dutchess_III Agreed. The labs we knew were much older, so we really didn’t know the energy potential of a young lab.

They are really cool dogs if you have the right area for them. We’d throw rocks in the lake and Asa would dive for them! I don’t think she ever got the actual rock we threw but she’d dive tirelessly after those rocks and bring them to us.

I have never regretted having my cat and dog despite the different troubles and difficulties every day, because they give me full of love and teach me what is a responsibility. I have to spend much time taking care of them, but something I receive is more than I miss. Also, I become more and more healthy as I have to walk my dog twice every day. And I clean my house regularly to build a hygienic and tidy environment to live. Sometimes, my families would travel with them (they are a service dog and ESA cat), instead of leaving them at home. We have lots of sweet memories during the trip.