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Is Your Family Ready For a Pet?

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Pets are adorable, sometimes it’s hard to say no to buying (or adopting) one for your home. It’s true, they’re good companions and they can your life more fun—complete your family, even. But you have to ask yourself and your partner: “Are we ready to take care of it?”

There are several things you have to consider before adding a fur baby to your family. So, before you give in to those puppy dog eyes, you have to take some things into consideration first.

The responsibilities

Just like children, pets need constant care and attention. They also need to be potty-trained, bathed, and taken to the vet for shots. It sounds like a lot of work, but that’s the reality of it. You have to put the time and effort, especially if they’re really young puppies or kittens that still need to be bottle-fed.

It’s going to be tiring and they might disturb you in more ways than one. But if you do it right, it’s going to be worth it because they’ll stay with your family as long as they will live.

The kids

You may be thinking that being in a family will make it easier to take care of a pet since there’s more than one person helping out. But what if your kids aren’t able to do this task? They may either be too young to even hold a pet (more on this later), or just don’t understand their responsibility yet.

A child who’s old enough to understand what’s right and wrong can be taught how to handle your family pet. Make sure to show them how to be gentle—no reckless actions during playtime or anything like that—as well as the basics like putting food in the bowl and walking them to the park. Not only will it teach them the importance of taking care of another life, your kid will build a lifelong friendship with their pet.

So, if your child asks you for a pet, ask them first: “Are you going to take care of it?”

Babies in the house

As mentioned earlier, babies are obviously too young to take care of pets, but that doesn’t mean they can’t coexist. Many pets can be affectionate and protective of their little humans, too. Just make sure your baby doesn’t have allergies to fur, and your pets aren’t hostile or too playful because they might accidentally hurt the baby.

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Hutton Law

Mr. Hutton is a Divorce and Custody Lawyer based out of Round Rock, TX. His background is with child psychology at Arizona State University where he received a B.S. in 2006, and he continued this by working with the Children’s Right’s Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law where he received his J.D. in 2009. Throughout his practice, he has been a strong proponent of utilizing modern technology to improve his practice and the representation of his clients. He currently is the technology chair of CAFA of Travis County and is committed to improving and modernizing the practice of law in Texas. If you have any questions you can contact him at timothy.hutton@austintexaslegal.com

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