How big a role does your pet play in your big decisions?

[Pam]

I was just thinking the other day about the role that pets play in some of the decisions we make. For example, if I was thinking about buying a new home I would definitely be swayed if I saw one with an already fenced in yard. If you own an SUV you may have purchased it because you have a large dog or dogs and travel often with them. When checking out a prospective home or apartment you may immediately start to consider 'now where would I put the litterbox?' hehe! I know many of you have considered these things but I was just wondering if anyone had any stories in particular.

[Cincy'sMom]

When Ralph and I were looking for houses, we really seemed to lean toward ones with a fenced in yard because we knew that eventually we would get a dog. We also base some of our decisions about what dto do in the evening on howlong the girls have been alone.

[TheAntiPam]

I'm apartment hunting - and so many newspaper ads don't mention pets. So, that is the first question when I call about a place. And 90% of the time, the answer is NO PETS, so that ends the call.

Even though it is difficult to find a nice place that allows pets, I can't conceive of people that leave their pets behind when they move. Where I go, my cats go. Period.

[Twisterdog]

I would only buy a house with a fenced yard ... or a yard that could be fenced. I could never rent, I have too many animals. I pulled up all my carpet and put in hardwood ... because it's easier to keep clean with dogs. I also could never move into town ... there is a four dog limit in the city limits, and I have eleven dogs! So, basically, my dogs rule my life!

[lizbud]

Pam,

Actually my pets are the first consideration in anything
I do in life. I lived in an apartment after my divorce and
they had a LB limit regulation on pets. 35 lbs was the
largest your dog could be.I began looking for a house to
rent(fenced yard) when it became apparent that Buddy
was going to be a big dog. I later bought the house that
I had rented because I found Momma Kitty & kittens and
became so attached to her.She had lived as a outside cat
all her life & I knew moving her to a new territory would be
more than she could handle. Guess you could say she and
Buddy helped me choose my new house.

[Cookiebaker]

I think the biggest things are:

the kind of car we drive--I really like sporty 2 door cars, but with taking Malone everywhere with me, that's not possible. So I have a "boat" instead.

basically where we go--many times we will go on a date where Malone can be included. Instead of the movies, we may go to the walking trail across town, or rent a movie to watch at home. We always include him on our vacations, and how long we are away is a big factor due to Marigold & Rilla.

[Aspen and Misty]

When we began looking for a house we looked for one with a fenced in yard and one that was large enough for one extremly hyper puppy. We found alot of nice houses but none had a fenced in yard till this one, and we practicly bought it the moment we saw the house. Also another feture we loved was in the bathroom closet there is a cat sized whole cute out and room enough fro a cat bow, so the cats have there very own kitty toilet at the bottom of the closet. We also knew we coouldn't rent because leaving the animals behind was not a option. I base my eveing and morning around Chewy's 3 walks. I get up at 5, (even on weekends) take him for an hour of walking, come home, feed him, let him out, and usually paly around with him a bit. Then at 7 (on weekdays) get ready for school. When I come home from school we go for a half hour of rollerblading. Then at 8 wee go to the baseball field and I allow him to run off leash to get some energy out before we go to bed. I almost never spend the night out cause Cheyw would have to sleep in his crate and I never go anywhere right after school because of chewy's walks.


Ash

[shais_mom]

Well I had my house before I got any pets. And I do live in town but my yard can be fenced. Hopefully within the next year or so.
Alot of my single friends when we go out they are like do you wanna spend the night at a hotel? and unless I make plans ahead of time. I make sure I don't drink and I can drive home. I have to be home for my babies.
I will not ever rent b/c chances are around here I won't be able to have pets and that is a no go.
I have thought about becoming a traveling tech but with my animals I won't. They do make accomodations for them but Keegan and I would be miserable if we couldn't see my family on a regular basis. I go with my parents to their cottage so Keegan can go with me. I make accomodations for Kylie while I am away.
And I would only date a man that likes my animals. If he doesn't like Keegan or Kylie, well "don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!"

[KYS]

Yep! me too!

I bought a Utility vehicle for Sheba, but when
she got arthritis bad, We bought a mini van for
the dogs and my husband now drives my Utility vehicle.
We used to take the dogs to the Dive-in-movies with
us, until they closed down the drive-in to make
room for a mega movie theater complex.

[ParNone]

It's pretty standard for yards to be fenced here in Texas, so
I didn't have to worry so much about that when I went looking.
But when I found a house with a nice covered porch, with a
backdoor on the bedroom leading to the porch, I snatched it up,
because I knew the dogs would like it.

I've also given up job opportunities over the years that might
require too much travel or being away from the dogs too long.

When I took a temporary job in New Mexico for a year and a half,
I made sure I found a house to rent that accepted pets
and M&M made the 800 mile trek across Texas with me. The
trek going wasn't so bad, because it was during the Fall, but
we came back during late spring. When I had to stop to go to
the bathroom, I'd have to find a shade tree to park under,
roll down the windows and leave them some water, then flat
out run to the bathroom, go, not even taking time to wash my
hands, and race back to the car. All the time keeping a close
eye on my watch to make sure I wasn't longer than 5 mins.

I also bought a SUV before I got Oz knowing my lil' Toyota
wouldn't be big enough for the big dog that I had hopes of
getting in the future.

I wouldn't date anybody who didn't love dogs.

Also did extensive research and soul searching on adding
a big dog to the family, because I didn't want M&M unhappy
or in fear. Even after I decided on a Collie due to their extreme
friendliness, I made sure with the breeder that Oz's personality
didn't seem at all dominant or aggressive.

Par...

[joycenalex]

the dogs play a huge role in my decisions. i chose a new car with side doors and a back seat that folds down, so if i do a rescue run, there is room for a crate. when i listed what i had to have in a house the first 3 things were fenced yard, mature shade trees and a basement (for the kitty pan. since alex and duke have epilepsy, the household revolves around pill time, and next to nothing messes with that, i hired a dogsitter for the rare occasions that i won't be home after work, and made sure that she knows how to do the meds. the dog beds are in everyroom and the cats plop where they want, often on the dogs' beds

[nsweezie]

My dog and cats play a huge role in my decisions.
A few years ago I was going to move to England, until I found out that Pugsley and the cats would be in quarentine for 6 months. So that idea went out the window!

[Logan]

Good question, Pam!! And probably every one of us has made life decisions based on our animals. I know I have. Cats aren't so much of a consideration as they seem to be more accepted in rental properties. But the dogs are!! And of course, choosing the right man meant finding one that loved animals as much as I do, or could at least tolerate the issues that come along with having so many. I know that I wouldn't have purchased a house in a neighborhood that didn't allow fences, and I definitely bought my first SUV because I needed a "dawg hawling" car. And I definitely wouldn't be marrying the man I am, in five short days, if he hadn't embraced, not only me and my daughter, but all 7 of our pets too!!!

[anna_66]

Yep, the dogs are pretty much the 1st thing we took into consideration when we went house hunting! It HAD to have a fence! And needless to say, we just got a SUV because of the animals (although I would love to just have a sportscar too! ) And we really haven't taken a *REAL* vacation in a while. I don't quite trust any place to keep them & taking them now (with 3!) is almost out of the question!
So Yes! The dogs come 1st

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Well Drake is involved in almost every big decision we make.
Does the landlord allow BIG dogs?
Is the yard fenced? Can It be fenced?
Are the neighbors Dog Friendly?
Is there a park nearby?
Is there a lake/pond, river near by?

I traded in my sports car for a Nissan Sentra when we got Drake. Andrew traded his in for a truck and purchased a camper top sp Drake could ride safely in the back.

We do not spend the night anywhere unless Drake can come along. We don't stay out too late unless someone is at home taking care of Drake.

I won't work too far fromhome because I have to go and let Draker out and play with him during my lunch break!!

So, does Drake affect how we do things in our lefe? You bet he does!!