I always said I never would. 2 kids close in age successfully launched. The family dog (a lab) was there for my sad days. He aged as we all do and he died about 2 years or so into our empty nest. My husband and I felt the freedom of no creatures at home, needing us or waiting for us. It was kind of cool. We wanted to travel, be spontaneous, etc.
It lasted exactly six months. I could not stand the quiet any more! We fell into a situation of a family needing to rehome a puppy immediately due to a health crisis. So a few days before Christmas 2014, we brought a ten week old puppy home.
Fast forward and we are done with the hardest parts. I am so glad I went with my heart instead of my brain! This pup is a delight and has changed my life for the better! I miss my kids and and I’m dealing with a parent with dementia, but I can say that this dog helps me get through each and every day!
She is small so travels with us sometimes and when she can’t, I found an amazing lady on dogvacay.com that treats her better than we do. I was so sure I didn’t want to deal with the work of a pet again…hair, boarding, grooming, noise, etc. Makes me sad I almost missed this.
D1 started college in August 2009. D2 started college in September 2011. Dog 2 died in August 2013. I held out until March 2014, when I adopted an 8-year-old Australian shepherd. Guess what: a middle-aged Aussie has a lot more energy than a middle-aged human being like me. I love her so much.
We have a 7 year old lab, got her as a pup when S (our youngest) was a freshman in high school. She is our third lab and we have always “overlapped” our dogs. I’m DYING for another pup but can’t figure out how to make it work with no kids in the house and H a and I working full time. It makes me so sad… I envy you @whitepicketfence !!!
Yes, we lost our first dog of 16 years a couple of months before our youngest graduated college, and we waited over a year and a half before getting another. At first it was difficult because our first one was the only one we’d ever had, so when we got #2 and he was nothing like the first one, I was sort of in shock. I kept thinking, I’m treating this dog the same way, why isn’t he behaving like the first one? Eventually we bonded and now we (H and I) can’t imagine life without the little booger. I am SO glad we waited, though. I do think there’s something to be said in that people need to grieve the loss of one pet before getting another.
But I understand people who choose not to get another pet after they are empty nesters. One thing we did do deliberately this time around was find someone we felt very comfortable leaving the pooch with when we travel. Our first time around, we only used house/dog sitters - she never stayed overnight anywhere else, and that limited us. Now we have a guy who, although a bit flaky sometimes, is great - he was actually our dog trainer and does doggy day care and overnights. So we have more flexibility to travel, etc. now that we’re empty nesters, and part of that was lining up someone we felt comfortable leaving him with from pretty early on. He’s even pretty good on last minute requests if something unexpected comes up.
We have two Australian Shepherds (see avatar), ages 13 and 9. My joke is: Everytime a boy graduated from high school, we got a dog. No more boys . . . but I expect there will be more dogs.
It gives us a focus, gives us someone who is delighted – no, ecstatic – when we return after a 20-minute errand, and forces us to get out of the house ever single day.
I’m not a dog person, and we have an elderly antisocial big dog… But really like DS’s little dog, so I went to the humane shelter and found a darling 15lb mixed almost 1-year-old puppy who had been adopted as a puppy and then returned for unknown reasons. He is funny and naughty and he makes us laugh, and he can travel with us. Now I love dogs!!!
I guess I’m on the other end of the spectrum. Had 2 dogs that got old and were gone when DS1 was three. They just seemed like to much work with a FT job, toddler and baby on the way. I have considered it for protection only, but when I think about everything involved…picking up poop, mandatory walks, vet bills, boarding, them wiping their asses across my carpet, hair, etc…I just can’t seem to bring myself to do it. I like dogs a lot…just not interested in taking care of another living thing at this time of my life.
I agree! I love our Australian shepherd. I thought our collie was a wonderful pet, but the Aussie is even more amazing. So smart and happy all the time!
We learned that a dog, like a young baby/toddler delights when you walk in the door - even if you only walked out the door seconds before. Like a baby/toddler, they have needs and need you to take care of some of them - feeding, loving, teaching good habits - but there is a satisfaction when you achieve these things and then life becomes routine in a very happy way with them.
In many ways, once the nest is empty of human “little ones”, a pet can replace some of those good routines we thrived on when our kids were “pups”.
My grandkitties (pictured in my avatar) were adopted by baby kiddo in a far, far away land. She did a fantastic job with them, because they are the most amazing cats on the planet! Because kiddo continues to lead her nomadic life for at least another year, they are staying with us. They greet everyone who comes through the door, and the tortie girl loves to be held and carried around the house like a baby. Her brother really enjoys belly rubs, like a dog!
I find that my dog ( and to a lesser extent, our cat) fills the hole that was left when the kids left. He gives me someone to talk to when dh is at work. Taking the dog for a walk or playing countless games of ball have helped me not to miss having the girls around. I really think that having a living creature to take care of keeps me young. I don’t want to get so old that I don’t have a dog around.
While we had a dog the kids entire childhood, I really don’t want to be tied down with another dog. Plus we’re really cat people. I have two kids, older son and younger daughter. We got a boy cat then went and got him a little sister. The cats almost seems to have the personality of the kids…lol. it’s like we’re weren’t done taking care of something.
I’m with conmama. I am a dog person and love my elderly beagle, but have no plans for another one. Our dog was adopted from rescue when I was a SAHM with 2 kids at home. Now the kids are both far away, I work full time, sometimes long hours, and H and I are trying to spend as much time as possible with elderly parents who live in another part of the country. We also have the means to travel for fun and would like to do more. At this point another dog would tie us down.
I love dogs, but just downsized to an apartment. My old lab died last year before I moved. My mom is in hospice across the country so I am traveling a lot, and likely I will be away from the apartment for long days when I am working again. So… no replacement here. I do like cats, but they are a longer commitment. Would get a Guinea pig (see avatar ), but I am allergic.
My much loved lab and D’s childhood companion died her second year of college, very suddenly. I couldn’t take it - I missed him so terribly that we added not one, but two labs to the household (not at the same time, I’m not that crazy). My husband works long hours so they are wonderful companions for me. There are times when life would be a lot easier if we didn’t have them, but their presence and kind natures have gotten me through some really sad and difficult times.
Our kids fully launched this year, and our dog died suddenly (unexpectedly) in October. He was ill for only a few hours so at least he didn’t suffer. While I miss him, I want the freedom of being able to leave the house and not have to check back in to let him out. We are not getting another. It’s a lot of responsibility and a new dog is like a new baby.
That said, I’m done having two pets. When the time comes I suspect I’ll have a dog for awhile, cant see me dogless but I wont strive for a pair anymore. Too much work, expense and responsibility. I’m traveling more now and it complicates the process.
We have an old dog (she is like 16 at least), who we are torn about having her put down, she is basically completely deaf and is pretty much blind, and has a hard time walking, but my wife doesn’t want to put her down (she had been her mom’s dog for a while, and she feels guilty having inflicted her mother on the dog). We would like to get another cat (ours died the year before last), but my wife feels that would upset the dog too much. I think when this dog finally is gone, we’ll get a cat (among other thing, to help with continuous battles with mice!), but I am not sure we’d get another dog at this point. We’ll never be lonely, though, we have a yellow naped amazon that is our non human son, that we’ll likely have until we pass on, then he becomes the ward of our son (and possibly, grandkids, given their lifespan):). He kind of fulfils the old thing parents have been known to say , where they will say “when you have kids, I hope they are exactly like you”…Amazons are like the most difficult child you can have, but like a child, ya still can’t resist them:)
), but I am allergic.