dogged to get a dog

Apparently, I am just about the only guy in my office who is not an animal person. Almost everyone else has a dog. There have been times I have wanted a dog, but that was when I was in sixth grade. My needs, wants, and pet peeves (pun not intended, but happily accepted) are different now.

I am mostly surprised by the fact that so few people feel the same way that I do. I don't have anything against a pet like a dog, but the pros just don't outweigh the cons. I decided to make a list of the pros and cons of getting a dog. The following is that list.

Pros:

• Companionship: This would make sense if I spent a lot of time alone. I don't, though.
• Unconditional Love: I threw this in because someone mentioned it as a reason to have a dog. Again, it might be a factor if I lived alone, but even then it wouldn't strongly influence me.
• Altruistic Endorphin Rush: By this I mean that it makes most people feel good when they help someone else. I think that I would feel better doing something like volunteering at a homeless shelter than taking care of a dog, though. Humans are much more important to me than animals.
• Security: No doubt, a barking dog can frighten away an intruder. I would not be getting a very large dog if I ever got one, though, so the benefit may be negligible. Are intruders scared off by yorkies or terriers?
• Kids Like Animals: This is the only reason I would consider getting a dog or a cat at this stage in my life. NJ does not appear to want a dog right now, though. CD will probably press for a dog or a cat when she is older.

Cons:

• Dog Food: It's smelly and expensive (enough).
• Dog Poop: It's smelly and requires me to let the dog out at specific times of the day and to scoop.
• Dog Smells: Other than the food and poop, there's the breath and other odors that are difficult (but not usually impossible) to extract from carpets and furniture.
• Cold: I don't want to have to take the dog out in the cold.
• Noise: Dogs sometimes decide to make a lot of noise at very inopportune times. A family I know has had the police called on them before because they could not keep their dogs quiet one night. This is not a problem with all dogs, but it cannot always be trained out of the dog. I would not feel good about having to resort to a shock collar.
• Scheduling: The dog either has to go on trips, be left in a kennel, or we have to get someone to agree to take care of it.
• Securing the Dogs: I know a lot of people whose dogs have gotten away. Not only does this mean that the dog has to be tracked down, but it also means that I would be legally responsible if the dog attacked anyone or damaged anything. One of Golden and my friends had a dog get loose and get hit by a car, and that person was responsible for the automotive repair costs because it was the dog's fault.
• Health: Simply put, I do not want to have to make the choice of putting Fluffy to sleep or paying for his or her operation.
• General Upkeep: Frankly, I already have to maintain enough things around the house and I have a difficult enough time keeping up. Having a pet means that there is one more thing that has to be maintained. In and of itself it is not a big deal. When taken with my other responsibilities, though, this is a serious drawback to me.

Obviously, I have a bias against having a pet, but I know that to many people their pets are part of what gives them purpose in life. This is not meant to disparage pet people, but rather to lay out my argument for why it would not make sense for me to get a pet.

Since I am a bit biased, does anyone have reasons that I did not consider for why it would make sense to get a dog or other pet? Conversely, does anyone agree with me?