Divorce

This is the one that I get lots of emails on. This kind of life situation throws the entire family into chaos. Nothing feels normal to anyone, including the family pet. They don't understand what's happening, they just know that things aren't right. It is important that the family pets don't become bargaining tools. Keeping the pets, especially when children are involved, helps to provide some emotional as well as physical stability to the family. Children can get the idea that if the pets can be given up easily, the same thing could happen to them. Keeping the pets can give some emotional healing to the innocent parties in a divorce, not to mention the comfort they can give to the person who keeps custody of them.

Here's a nice web page article that says it all, Click Here.

Remember, animals don't judge, they just LOVE.

Births, Deaths And Old Age

The arrival of a new baby can cause lots of problems. If mom took care of the pets, she now will have less time with the added responsibility of taking care of an infant. On top of that there is the question or whether the pet will accept the new baby or resent it. That's a biggie and a very important thing to consider. With proper management techniques and minor changes to your normal routines, many of these problems could be lessened or eliminated. If you love your pet, take the necessary measures to work thing out. Remember, pets and kids are naturals.

Here is a link to a website called "Wonder Puppy" that has some great articles to help you integrate a pet into your household.

The death of a family member can bring about a whole different set of problems and burdens on family members. What to do with Fluffy or Fido. If it's the death of a spouse, keeping the family pet can have a very positive effect on the surviving spouse. The pet can relieve a lot of the emptiness and give some much needed comfort to them. In many cases the pet will give the surviving spouse a reason to go on.

If the death is a elderly parent or relative with a pet, the question is about someone in the family taking over the responsibility for the pet. Taking on the responsibility of an "orphaned" pet can sometimes be good therapy for a surviving relative.

In the case of Old Age and the need to place an elderly person in a rest home, taking on the responsibility of the person's pet can be a big relief to the older person. Knowing your pet is taken care of can be liberating. Also, the person who keeps the pet could bring the pet along with them on visits. We did that for my mother when she had to be put in a rest home. My youngest sister kept the dog, which really helped her deal with her own emotions, and being able to bring the dog for visits was good for mom.

Moving

Moving to a new city or home can be very stressful for the entire family, including the family pet. Sometimes taking the family pet with you can be a big burden

Remember, they are part of the family and need to be taken into consideration when buying a new home, moving to an apartment or moving to a new city. Not being able to find a suitable dwelling that will accept pets is not an excuse. Every city in the US has tons of housing available to pet owners. That should be your priority. If you have small children, you certainly don't want them to get the idea that you could leave them behind also. You want to set a good example to your children about responsible pet ownership.

When my family moved from Lansing, Michigan to Jacksonville, Florida in 1974 we had my husband and me, our three kids, two German Shepherd dogs and two cats. Everybody moved. We had the animals shipped down a week after we got settled in our house and I've never regretted it for a moment. The kids would have been distraught if we hadn't moved the pets with us.

These issues are personal ones and only you can decide what is best for you and your circumstances. I've given my feelings on the subjects. Hopefully, you will make an honest and thoughtful decision when the time comes.