Sam, Interesting fact but truly in Islam cats are regarded highly due to prophet Mohammad. Watch this film when you have time. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kedi_2017/ . It is a fun movie about cats in Istanbul. Dogs are not considered clean due to their hair containing some stuff that is harmful to health. Don't ask me details, I don't know. My mother and father were devout religious Muslims but I never had much to do with religion.
good job on the poll but if you treat cats right they are very needy animals. they will hound you. cats became domesticated for the same reason as dogs. need for food. people have become comfortable with the idea that dogs are the best friends and cats are the next thing to furniture. they are living beings with personalities and lives. if you pay attention to them, they can change your life.
It’s a good opportunity to teach the kids that in life we can’t always get what we WANT. A dog is a major investment of time, money and resources. If you have to pay others to walk your dog or if the dog is going to be crated for hours at a time then the answer is don’t do it.
Just remember the reason your dog loves you is because you feed it and it has a brain the size of a walnut
I went thru this a few years ago and went to many places to look at dogs with my family. The Best place is North Shore Animal league,,,,by far the best that we experienced. It is like adopting a kid they will ask you for a reference or 2 of people to vouch for you and THEY WILL CALL THEM. They will ask if someone is home at all times and you better be prepared to fib and say YES or they will NOT GIVE you a dog. They will give the dog its shots and give you some history on the dog at no charge. They have a great setup its a big place,,,,,,go there with the boys and check it out before you go anywhere else. ps if you do find a dog you want be prepared to spend some time / hours there but its worth it. Good Luck,,,,,,if you need references I'm sure CMAN and Jaywayne will vouch for you.
C Thanks. I am sure North Shore is a great place but we have an awesome shelter right by our house. We donate there every year even though we don't have any pets. That said, not being home thing is throwing a curve ball to our plans. Since yesterday I am reading about owning a dog first time and it will be a torture for the animal not having somebody at home during the day. We didn't make our final decision but I think we will end up not adopting.
Dogs are a lot of work but totally worth it. I have two, a 6 yr old female and a 10month old boy puppy. Dogs adjust well to your lifestyle. Both my wife and I work full time and puppy was alone most of the day. It took a bit longer with the potty training but he adjusted. Depending on breed, expect a puppy to be full of energy and needs lots of exercise. So if your puppy is locked up in a crate all day you will need to give him lots of exercise and attention when you’re home. As far as going away, another alternative to the “pet hotel” is finding someone private that does in Home boarding, they tend to give more personal attention to the dog and if you can find someone you trust it can be a lifesaver. Good luck man, I’d always recommend dogs as it is also a good way to teach the kids responsibility and they will be their best friends for the dogs entire life.
Brook....I was a cat person before I had a dog,,,,,that said North Shore also has ALOT of cats,,,,good luck.
Ditto to that .. I have a sphinx hairless cat since I am allergic to long hair Logan gravitates to people is very smart and has a loving personality He looks and acts very dog like and all sorts of folks say so ! This little guy is clean and I just take of the litter box (he won't go in it if it's dirty lol) ...just a pleasure
Cat owners. Say we overcome my wifes alergy issue. How do you make sure your house doesn’t stink due to litter? Last I owned a cat was almost 18 years ago and that was a problem back then. How is it now.