Published: 2022-08-13
About 57 percent of the world own pets which means about 57 percent of the world could be facing the same challenges my family and I face. My dad is neutral when it comes to having pets and we have had a labrador retriever for more than 2 years now. Bay needs to be taken care of, walked 4 times a day, fed twice a day, showered every once in a while, and more. These are all responsibilities that have to be shared amongst the family. And naturally, nobody likes to do extra work and so my siblings and I often procrastinate or disregard "dog duties". This leads to my parents having to take on extra responsibilities and having extra frustrations. As a result, there are often conflicts due to the dog.
My brother Nash shared with me his frustrations in terms of "dog duties", 'Having to clean up the mess Bay makes if she does something out of the ordinary like tearing apart things around the house previously is extremely frustrating for me. And when someone else does not complete their "dog duties", leaving it for the next person to find is also very frustrating. When it's supposedly someone else's responsibility and they don't complete it fully, it affects the next person. But other than that, it isn't that bad."
I share the same frustrations as my brother too. However, one extra thing I would like to add is that waking up in the morning is often a challenge for me. I am responsible for the morning shift for walking Bay and taking care of her breakfast. This requires waking up early and most of the time I'm either too exhausted from sleeping too late the day before or just lazy to get up. This results in my dad being forced to cover my shift and it is an extra inconvenience for him.
My mom also shared some of her frustrations, 'Parents' frustrations when it comes to "dog duties" is when we have to cover dog shifts for others or when the previous person does not complete everything thoroughly, the mess is left behind for the next to clear. For example, not drying the dog completely after a shower and her running around the house completely wet. When she roams all over and wipes herself dry on the house furniture, her fur is all over the place and is difficult to clean up afterward.'
To conclude, having a dog might sound easy but it comes with countless responsibilities, and do make sure to be ready to commit to those responsibilities. Members of the family should come together and cooperate, each doing their part of "dog duties". This ensures that no more conflicts are caused by having a dog around.