Are you a dog person or a cat person?
I have always liked dogs since I was a child. Because I grew up in the countryside, dogs were a very common type of animal. My uncle used to have a female German Shepherd who was very fierce, but extremely loyal to her family. I heard that when my sister was in elementary school, she would run to the school gate every day to pick her up, and no one could take her away except for my sister.
Later, it was said that she gave birth to a litter of puppies and they were all taken away. After that, her temperament changed drastically. She would bark incessantly at anyone who tried to approach her. My uncle had no choice but to let her guard the orchard at the front door of the house. He built a kennel for her in the center of the orchard and chained her up with an iron chain. He would visit her every day when he brought her food.
She had been in the orchard since I can remember, until she was old and about to die. Someone from the village came to buy dog meat, so my uncle sold her.
When I was in school, I always thought that when I started working, I would definitely raise a Samoyed that I liked, as if raising a child. Now that I am actually working, I realize that it is somewhat difficult to fulfill that dream.
Not to mention the breed of the dog, just the level of activity of a dog is quite unfriendly for someone like me who often works overtime. However, some of my colleagues do have dogs. They would wake up early to take their dogs for a walk and to go to the bathroom, and then they would come home and take a shower. Their daily routine is truly enviable. Not being able to sleep at night and not being able to get up in the morning has become the norm for me, and my desire to have a dog has been abandoned.
Before I met my significant other, I never mentioned wanting to have a cat because I felt that cats are not creatures that humans can control. Their unpredictable behavior made me uninterested in having a cat as a pet. However, after weighing the pros and cons between cats and dogs, I discovered the advantages of having a cat.
Cats are clean animals. They clean themselves by licking their fur after eating, using the bathroom, or being touched by someone. Cats don't have any noticeable odor. Cats are timid. For the occasional few aggressive cats, most cats prefer to stay at home and avoid encountering strangers. This means that the cat's range of activity is relatively small, limited to the size of the house, and there is no need to specifically take the cat for a walk. Cats can take care of themselves to a certain extent because they are not domesticated animals. They have their own hunting abilities, although this ability has been mostly eliminated in pet cats. But after the owner provides food and water, there is generally no need for additional investment.
These advantages of cats deeply resonated with me. I had underestimated cats before.
After I started raising a pet, I also realized that the pet economy is indeed a deep pit. Various medical expenses and various types of food require careful selection. I am afraid that one day my "master" will leave me with my longing...
As for whether I will continue to raise pets in the future, I can't say for sure. There are pros and cons to having pets. They can provide you with emotional support, but not having pets means you don't have to worry about whether your "master" is doing well every day, and you can simply leave whenever you want. But at least for now, the joy that pets bring me outweighs the pain.