You should always make sure your pet (whatever it is) does not breed (have babies). There are more than enough pets born every year in the care of people who do that for a job. Bringing more animals into the world is irresponsible. Even if you think you will give them away to friends, that is wrong - free pets are often not looked after as well as pets that are paid for. Desexing stops cats and dogs wandering and having fights. A desexed animal is more home loving, friendly and generally requires less food to maintain a healthy body weight. It costs money to have it done, but it is part of the responsibility of pet ownership.

You need to spend time with your pet every day, grooming it and playing with it. If it is a dog, you will need to walk it every day, even if you don't want to, and even if it is raining! Dogs need stimulation, because they can get sad and depressed if they do not have enough to keep them interested. Only a very old dog wants to lie about and sleep all day.

You need to give your pet food (the right sort of food, not leftovers) and water, and it should always have access to water. You also need to provide shelter from the weather, either inside your house, or in a special cage or kennel, so it can rest quietly when it wants to. If you leave a dog outside while you are away, you need to provide a place for it to shelter from rain or sun, and to sleep.

You need to make sure your pet has regular checks with the vet to keep it healthy. Cats and dogs need to have regular vaccinations to keep them from getting serious diseases, just like people. If your pet is sick, you need to take it to the vet. It is part of the responsibility of being a pet owner to make sure you have enough money put aside to pay for vet care.

You need to love and care for your pet for the rest of its life. You can train most pets (except perhaps fish!), but you need to be kind and patient. It is never all right to punish your pet by hitting it or by hurting it in any way.

A pet can give you a lot of fun and pleasure, but you must always remember that it is your responsibility to look after it. You can't just stop and say, "I don't want to be bothered looking after this pet any more." After all, your parents have the responsibility of looking after you. Would you want your parents to say that about you, and just dump you out of the car one day?

 

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