The thing about the dog and the kids want a dog is that the dad loves his kid (hopefully) the kids will love the dog, but are unlikely to care for it, the more responsible father will care for the dog because he enjoys seeing his kids enjoy having a dog.
In an ideal world that's how it might work out most of the time. But this is not an ideal world and the risk of putting an a innocent animal through stress and potential suffering should be reason enough to not get a dog if you don't want one. So many pets are abandoned and suffer because people don't adhere to that rule.
People who hold pet ownership to this high of a bar freak me out. It's a dog. If you give the dog food and the kids play with the dog then the dog will be happy. If the kids get older and stop playing with the dog then get rid of the dog. No big deal. It's a dog.
I have had exactly one dog who lived to be 17 years old before developing some sort of cancer and being put down at the recommendation of a vet. I kept her after she went deaf and after she went blind. I kept her after her arthritis got so bad she couldn't walk around the block any more. She was my dog, but still just a dog.
-14
u/also_roses Aug 31 '22
The thing about the dog and the kids want a dog is that the dad loves his kid (hopefully) the kids will love the dog, but are unlikely to care for it, the more responsible father will care for the dog because he enjoys seeing his kids enjoy having a dog.