What does it take to be a good pet owner? The answer definitely varies from person to person. One person may be comfortable leaving their dog outside to play all day while someone else prefers to carry their dog around in a purse to keep their paws clean. Are they both right? No one can say for sure, but perhaps those who studied to take care of their animals professionally might have a clue.
Reddit user, u/Vischen25, wanted to know:
Veterinarians of reddit, what's a clear sign that someone is a good parent to their pet?
Here's A Quick List
Vet assistant here. Good owners usually do the following.
- Pay for recommend tests and meds when the pet is sick.
- Have a well groomed and clean yorkie, shih tzu, cocker spaniel, ect
- Stay up to date on preventative care, like vaccines and flea and heartworm prevention.
- Follow the doctors diet advice (not feeding grain free, uneducated raw diets, or sh-t kibble).
- Stay with their pet when it is euthanized. No animal should die without their beloved owner around.
Never Let Someone's Appearance Dictate Your Thoughts
Don't let appearances fool you.
When I was a tech, I had a client come in with a dog who was sick with parvo. He had holes all over his clothes, basically looking homeless. Made an estimate for him and assumed he wouldn't pay for treatment (I've had so many clients do this and didn't help we were located at the "poor" side of town). To my surprise, he signed the estimate, left a deposit, dog stayed with us for a week and got better, and he came in every day to visit and pay. That made me happy and realized that not all people are turds towards their pets.
Asking. Always Asking.
Vet tech, not a vet. To me, one clear sign that someone is a good pet parent is when their pet is fully vetted (appropriate vaccines or titers, preventative medications, yearly or bi-annually check ups, yearly dental cleanings). Another to me is when the client asks questions about what's the best for their pet (food/diet, medications, titers vs yearly vaccines, exercise, etc). While money doesn't automatically make you a good pet parent, when the above are taken care of it indicates, to me, that they're good pet parents and their pets' needs are met.
Enough Love, Just Not Enough Education
Vet assistant here.
We had this big biker cone in with his Bassett Hound. Overweight but not bad. Happy other than "walking funny."
The Dr did the exam and the dog's nails were so long they curled down and back into the pads. Poor guy must have been in SO much pain.
I was seeing red... Yes he brought him in but my GOD how could he have left it that long!!!
I was in the room with the vet when they were showing the owner the injuries and telling him it would require sedation to trim the nails and clean the wounds.
This big burly guy started SOBBING. He said that the dog mostly rode with him on his bike, in front of him on a lambskin covering the gas tank of the bike. He would carry him everywhere not on the bike.
It really hit me then that there was nothing but love for the dog, just not enough education for the human.
Keep The Relationship Split
Controversial: I have a weird aversion to the whole '[pet] parent' thing. I generally think anyone who refers to themselves as Mummy or Dad when talking to their pet is treating them like a human.
Animals should not be treated like humans, they have their own needs and the best animal husbandry reflects that.
"We can tell when you love your pet..."
We can tell when you love your pet, the way you talk and interact with them - it's obvious. I always tell people their pets are cute/handsome/pretty (even when I don't necessarily think so) and the people's whose faces light up and smile and agree are always cute to watch. But honestly just be responsible. Get them their yearly checkups, keep up on their vaccines, when they're sick take them in right away and don't wait, when they're older get them their yearly bloodwork, and keep up on any medications they need.
And if your pet is sick and we recommend tests but you can't afford it, tell us! Sometimes there are other options or resources we know of, and sometimes we can go step by step so it's not so much at once. Oh, and please keep up on your pets dental health. I know it's expensive but the amount of people that tell me their 10 year old dog is acting like a puppy again after losing rotten teeth is astonishing.
Take Them
Taking them to the vet when they clearly need to go.
My mother ignored our family dog's itchy butt for weeks. Then I brought her to stay over one night, and noticed she dragged her butt across the floor way more excessively than normal. I gave her butt a look and saw rice. Tapeworm. Told my mother that she needed to go to the vet, and she was in denial and f-cking ignored it for another week or so until she woke up in bed one morning and there were tapeworm segments everywhere in bed.
Be Ready To Let Them Go
Maybe a controversial one, but being ready to let go when the time comes. We see it all the time; pet parents who are too scared to say goodbye and keep paying for expensive treatments which can make a pet live longer, but doesn't improve their quality of life. I'm 100% behind putting up a fight and doing anything you can to save a pet's life, but living in pain is very hard and a lot to ask of an animal who can't accurately describe their pain to you.
If there's one thing I've learned it's that some people love by hanging on, and others love by letting go. It's hard, but it's usually the right thing to do.
Do You Consider Your Pets Points Of View?
The biggest thing is really do you think of things from your pets point of view. I don't care if you look up things on the internet and ask about them. You should. There are lots of different ways for pets to die/be euthanized and we do recommend a "hospice" idea that makes their end as comfortable as possible and that a lot depends on the pet and you and the pet's condition. (Maybe they'd like to be outside, for example.)
But if people think from their pets point of view, and if they spend a lot of time with them, it's a good sign. For example, if someone asks "Will my puppy get bored in their crate all day while I'm at work?" (Yes.) I feel a lot better about them than if they say, "He peed in his crate again!" without thinking "maybe he couldn't wait that long." If people go on walks with them, describe activities they like, have games with them, just ENJOY each other, that's a sign there is a real relationship there, and not just some random being lurking around your house that you're not paying attention to.
I don't mind if you treat your dog like a "person." I don't even know what that means. Should you respect them? Yes. Think about their happiness (which you are solely responsible for)? Yes. If you have in your mind that your pet, like you, gets bored, needs exercise, needs attention, likes to have fun, doesn't like feeling itchy or sick or lonely, and you are attentive to those things and getting help when necessary, that's all good!
Counterpoint: Not Everyone Can Be Present
I want to add a comment that someone is NOT a bad owner if they are unable to be with their pet when it is euthanized. I see way too many posts about how they die looking for their owner while feeling so alone and sad. This is not true. I have been present for quite a few. It's a quick procedure that is basically an overdose of sedative. My father is a veterinarian and also holds the same belief; if you are unable to be there for your pet because it will be too difficult emotionally, physically, or whatever reason, you are not a bad owner. When a pet is euthanized at our hospital, there are always at least two assistants providing love and care while the pet is euthanized if the owner is unable to make it.
Be Open And Ready To Listen
- They listen to you, instead of trying to convince you that what they read on google is true
- They can answer all your questions about what the pet eats/where it sleeps/what it does during the day
- They don't try to humanize their pet by treating it like a baby. They understand first and foremost that it's a dog/cat, not a person
Google Is Not A Veterinarian
They take your advice over google. They ask about when should they see a vet again. They know their habits. They prepare for unforeseen events (or try to). They treat them like a member of their family.
Put In Lots Of Effort
Small animal veterinarian here.
1. A willingness to listen to, and gasp maybe even follow, the recommendations I make for care, especially for routine things like vaccines, individualized dietary needs, or preventative health. I can tell when owners think they know more than I do and don't bother trying to inform and educate some who are stuck in their ways...e.g. that feeding raw meat is superior to cooked, that vaccines do more harm than good, or that Dogsnaturally.com is a reputable source of information. I love when my owners want to talk about health matters - if you have an open mind, I am a wealth of information!
2. Putting in the effort at home to care for your pet. Dogs and cats are not house ornaments. Both require socialization, interaction, some grooming, and attention. Not every pet is happy to come to see me, and I understand that, but if you don't pay attention to whether or not your pet is eating (or even what they are eating), never know what their stool looks like, and don't know what medications they are on, it makes my job a lot harder. Knowing these answers to the questions I ask shows you care!
3. Being willing to actually come see me and put in some effort when your pet is sick. Look, I'm sorry, guys. Medical care costs money. Treating your pet for free takes money away from the hospital and the people who work there. Veterinarians aren't rich, and most clinics operate on thin margins. That being said, I will do everything I can to help within your individual limits, even if it's not the best approach medically. Yes, sometimes that means in the worst cases, euthanasia for a problem that is too costly to fix but would cause nothing but pain suffering if left untreated. I understand we all have limits, and you can be a great caregiver without endless disposable income. But if you expect me to magically fix your ailing pet with no exam, no diagnostics, and get angry that we have to charge for these things to keep our doors open, you lose sympathy in my eyes.
In short, look after your pets' health, put in the effort to care for them, and try to listen to your doctor.
One additional edit: If a pet is at a healthy weight. Granted, that is not a guarantee that a pet has a great owner, nor is an owner of an overweight pet necessarily bad, but an ideal weight usually means that the owner is willing to put in the effort to keep a pet healthy!
A Sign They're NOT A Good Owner
On the flip side, a person is generally a bad pet owner if, when frightened in the vet office, their pet goes to a staff member for comfort and reassurance instead of to their owner.
Never Let The Way You Look Be How You Take Care Of Pet
I'll never forget (as an assistant) a big biker dude (tats, glasses, beard, sour expression the whole thing!) Kneeling down besides his cat who was getting his temperature checked, cupping its head in his hands and whispering "Oh baby, I know... Oh my little flower petal, I wouldn't like that too... Don't cry, it will be over soon"
And I absolutely melted for him!
Dude was scary to look at before that but after that I saw a whole different kind of person.
There's No Special Tricks. Just Listen.
Being a responsible owner is completely relative to each situation. Yes, make your preventative care appointments on time and follow all vaccine/diet/annual recommendations. But also how you treat your pet (and your vet) in less routine checkups and sick visits says a lot. People can have all the money in the world and be terrible owners. On the other hand, the way people behave and make decisions in the face of financial limitations is also really telling.
Owners that are willing to listen to me and make reasonable and informed decisions in the interest of their pet (even if we can't reach a gold standard plan) are good pet parents. You don't have to be a millionaire to be a good pet parent. Be nice to your vet and know that the health and wellbeing of your little buddy is always top priority!
It's highly believed that it is important to learn history as a means to improve our future.
What is often overlooked is that what is taught in history class is going to be very different depending on where you went to school.
And this isn't just internationally, even different regions of the United states will likely have very different lessons on American history.
This frequently results in our learning fascinating, heartbreaking and horrifying historical facts which our middle or high school history teachers neglected to teach us.
Redditor Acherontia_atropos91 was curious to learn things people either wished they had learned, or believe they should have learned, in their school history class, leading them to ask:
What isn’t taught in history class but should be?
The Irish Troubles
"The troubles."
"Too many people in America do not understand why a wall straight through Ireland would be a BAD idea."
"I’m referring to the Brexit referendum and possible outcomes."
"If people were wondering why we were talking about walls through Ireland in the first place."- CLCVS.
Forgotten elements of World War II
"What the Japanese did to the Chinese during WW2."
"Unit 731."- CaptainMcBoogerJew.
"Japan gets off easy for their war crimes in WW2."
"They killed an estimated 16mil Chinese civilians and another 8mil soldiers"
"Also, Pol Pot."
"Didn't know who he was until I was like 25."
"Worst dictator all time (in terms of percentage of population he decimated)".
The truth about the American Revolution
"That the American Revolution was part of a wider cold war type of conflict with France."
"The American Revolution was basically the UK's equivalent of the US version of Vietnam."- vinsant7.
The Dark side of Swedish history.
"As a Swede, I'd like to know more of all the horrible sh*t my country has done throughout history."
"It's a damn shame we're trying to hide our history."
"For example, Swedes killed a metric sh*t ton of all Polish people when we were at our strongest."
"That's the kinda sh*t we don't get to learn."- mogwandayy.
Colonization
"Basically what Belgium did to the Congo."
"A lot of people are telling me that they are taught about this actually."
"I'm glad to hear it because I wasn't taught about this in the USA during my public school days (1995-2008)."- EconArch.
The truth about "heroes".
"While teaching about historical Heroes they should also tell students about the unspeakable things some of them did."
"Many famous figures throughout history who are pillars of morality actually did many terrible things." - User Deleted
Intolerance for Mental Illness
"The dark history of mental illness treatments."
"I think it's worth learning about."- 7dayexcerpt.
Slavic Mythology
"Slavic mythology in Slavic countries."
"Don't get me wrong, I love both Greek & Roman mythology and as a person from the Balkans both of those cultures are part of my country's history and had great influence over not only my region but the entirety of the continent & the western world but I wouldn't mind knowing more about Slavic mythology as well."- ShorsShezzarine.
The truth about the CIA
"How the CIA was made and all the shady things they did over the years."- ALargeChip.
There is a lot about the history of our world, not to mention our own country which shouldn't be ignored.
And it's from learning from our mistakes that we really improve our future.
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So apparently we are in the endemic phase of this nonsense.
We have light at the end of the tunnel.
So what now?
Where do we go from here?
Normal seems like an outdated word.
How do we get back to normal though?
Is it even possible?
What are reaching back to?
Life pre-Covid.
Those were the days.
If only we could bring them back.
Redditor hetravelingsong wanted to discuss our new normal in this hopeful "endemic" phase. So they asked:
"What’s something random you miss about pre-COVID times?"
I miss people being sane. Though that maybe election cycle issues not COVID. We'll never know.
I thought I was Alone...
"Being able to grocery shop after 11 pm."
Reading_Rainboner
"Hell yes. I miss the days where the Walmart across the street was open 24 hours."
Small_Tax_9432
let's just go...
"I miss spontaneity... everything now seems to have a barrier of difficulty."
iidosee
"I live very close to Disneyland so I have an annual pass. My friends and I would just go there after work and hang out and grab a bite to eat."
"Now, we have to reserve a day to go. And most of the time, the days are at 'full' capacity so we couldn't even reserve. I don't want to schedule to hang out at Disneyland for a couple hours for July. So yeah, I definitely miss the 'lets go eat at Disneyland tonight?' texts."
mymymissmai
Not til 24-25
"Functioning global supply chains. Ah, the product you want has got microchips in it? 9 month wait."
richard-king
"Minimum, I'd been saying for a while now that I wouldn't expect a true return to normalcy in terms of electronics prices till 2024-2025. Although Crypto crashing through the floor really took some of the pressure off graphics cards which I really appreciate."
statiiic
WTF?!?!
"How affordable everything was!"
Disastrous_Hour_6776
"Yep. Today I was bagging up my things at the grocery store and I heard the cashier say to the lady behind me 'thats $78.12.' She had -- 2 boxes of Kellogg's corn flakes, a carton of 12 eggs, milk, strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, a small cheese cake, English muffins, coffee, and a small whole frozen chicken that could maybe feed 3 people if the meat portioning was small."
SnowyInuk
Sushi
"My favorite sushi place. It was good quality, close by, kid-friendly, and not too expensive."
InannasPocket
All of this... it was a simpler time.
NASTY
"As a retail worker, just how f**king NASTY some people have gotten."
DmitriPetrov*itch
"They applauded you for being an essential worker but won’t vote for policies that’ll raise minimum wage while insisting a wage cap for heavily paid employees."
sketchysketchist
CHANGES your DNA...
"Some of the people closest to me became very bitter and petty over the last 2 years. So many people have the 'crazy eyes' now."
__--__7
"So true and holidays with the family is like who has the biggest tinfoil hat building contest. How many jumps does your brain have to go through to think that the Covid vaccine CHANGES your DNA into the patented DNA so that the government now controls your body."
"So like vaccinated people now have a singular DNA set. I feel like I still have a chunk of my brain just broken off due to that comment alone. I was also told by same family member that I could never donate blood again due to the vaccine. I guess it is so my patented DNA doesn't affect people?? FYI my vaccinated butt just donated today fine and multiple other times after the vaccine."
tyreka13
Homeward Bound
"House prices."
adrianinked
"I'm resigned to never thinking I have a chance on owning property where I live. I'm 30 and just can't imagine it anymore. And I don't want to live anywhere else so, whatever."
Osdab2daf
"That didn’t happen because of the pandemic. That was already happening regardless."
CH11DW
Oh Mickey
"All Day Breakfast at McDonalds."
hutch2522
"It was honestly hell to do, and not very popular. ITs margins aren't anywhere dinner and lunch specials. ON top of that, the temperatures are such that They require its own grill, meaning that if you have 2 grills in shop, you are down 50% of lunch capacity."
Freyas_Follower
Way back when...
"Hanging out with friends. And I mean waaaaaay before Covid. Like 2006 back when I had some friends."
LoocsinatasYT
I miss the old days. Maybe we'll get back there.
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What do you believe?
Is there a GOD in the sky?
Is he guiding us and helping us?
Life is really hard. Why is that is a big entity is up there loving us?
Atheists have taken a lot of heat for what feels like shunning GOD.
What if they've been right all along?
Maybe let's take a listen and see what they really think.
Redditor __Jacob______ wanted to hear from the people who don't really believe all that "God" stuff. They asked:
"Atheists, what do you believe in?"
I'm waffling between G-O-D and nothing. So please give me some education.
911
"We need to look out for each other because help isn't coming."
cknipe
Peace Out
"More than 2 decades ago, a priest was giving a sermon in my church and he said 'our faith requires you to believe without question. Why call it faith if you have to ask questions?' I haven't returned to church. Not until my wedding day but you know what I mean."
asiangontear
Delusion
"When I was young I used to think that after death you would have access to a PC that you could see absolutely anything about your life. Stats, any question you had no matter how obscure, replays of moments, perspectives of others in relation to you. No matter what you wanted to know, if it was relatable to you, you could see it. I know it's silly, but as time goes on I just want it to be real, and I don't think I'd have any issue allowing myself to fall into that delusion."
eggwardpenisglands
I think nothing happens...
"Realistically, I think nothing happens. We literally experience nothing after death. Same thing that we experience before birth. We don't exist, so it's nothing. I think the tenant that we should follow while living is to try to be happy and healthy while minimizing the damage we do to each other."
"What I would LIKE to happen after death is whatever you believe in, exists. I think Christians should get to go to heaven if they truly believe in it, Hindus and Buddhists get reincarnated, and everyone else also gets to experience what they believe they will experience."
"'I would still experience Nothing. Maybe it's one of those things where at the moment of death their brain makes them experience what feels like an infinitely long moment in time where they experience their afterlife. I just think it would be neat for everybody."
Better_Meat_
Shrug
"Best advice I received from a dear senior on their way out. 'You win some, you lose some' shrug. Nothing divine, life is that simple and wonderful, accept it and move on."
Tune_Kindly
It all sounds pretty simple. Why are people so up in arms about Atheists?
Whatever
"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people that do."
imCIK
Cool with Empty
"Nothing. [Serious]."
rumblingtummy29
"I feel this way about death. When I was 5, my grandfather died and my cousin simple said, he is dead, that means you are gone forever. Everything ends up dying, even plants and animals. I'm now in my 40's and still have this simplistic view of life and death. People think I'm ambivalent to life and death but it's just what it is."
thepigfish82
puppet-masters...
"I think a lot of religious people struggle with the fact that we are all just swirling units of chaos. There is no grand plan or great orchestrator. I think that’s why people who are prone to religion are also susceptible to things like Q anon and the Cabal and all that. They REALLY want to believe that there is some almighty puppet-master who determines all of humanity’s fate."
Lngtmelrker
“we’re living in a society!”
"Just be a kind and empathetic person not because you’re worried about some cosmic justice, but because it’s the right thing to do. If there is some being that created us there’s no way they actually care about believing in it or adhering to some rules from over 2000 years ago."
"Also a big thing for me is that I find the idea that you need religion or the Bible in order to have morals and ethics pretty dumb. It’s pretty f**king clear that most evangelicals have neither. But my main thing is being a good person simply because, as George Costanza once said we’re living in a society!' If you’re only a good person in order to make it to heaven you probably aren’t actually a good and moral person."
conservative_genius
That's All
"You're born. You live. You die. That's it. After you die you cease to exist, the same as before you were born."
serefina
Believe what you want. We're all here together. So let's focus there.
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The list of what irritates me is endless.
I mean... breathing too loud or dust can set me off.
I'm a bit unstable, yes.
But I'm not alone.
So let's discuss.
Redditor Aburntbagel6 wanted to hear about all the times many of us just couldn't control our disdain. They asked:
"What never fails to piss you off?"
I feel like this article can go on forever. Let's get some highlights.
Wasted Time
"Meetings that could and should have been an email."
Sirena609
Lotto People
"Getting stuck behind people playing the lottery at a corner store."
thenuggetlover
"I also used to work in a gas station and you’re SO right. I f**king hated the lottery people. Especially since my store had a small staff and there was usually only one of us working at a time, which meant that I couldn’t get any of my other work done as long as they were there."
"And you’re right, it’s also pretty sad to watch. I had one lady who used to come in every day and spent hundreds and HUNDREDS of dollars on scratch tickets. One day, she won $200 after spending probably around $600 and she was so excited and saying she can 'finally pay her bills.'"
i-am-your-god-now
Aware...
"No situational awareness. Job, home, shopping, driving. Think for one minute and go about. OBSERVE!!"
Dizzy-Foundation8122
"My mom is one of those people who leave the shopping cart in the middle of the damn aisle and proceed to walk twenty feet away. After correcting her a million times to no effect I just walk away now so people don’t know I’m with her."
OutrageousEvent
Shut Up!
"Endless barking in the middle of the night, I love animals but that sh*t I can't stand."
Acceptable-Lemon2924
"Endless barking in general drives me up a wall. One of my friends dogs was barking almost an entire gaming session the other day. I wanted to reach through the computer and smack him for letting it go on."
bangersnmash13
Kindness
"People being mean to service workers, especially if the workers are very young."'
scaryboilednoodles
All of these things. I hate them all.
Admit It
"People who never accept fault when they mess something up. Like, why blame a million people when it was clearly you who did it???"
Quirky-Area-8978
From Above
"My upstairs neighbors."
lutzow89
"I had terrible neighbors at my previous apartment. It was a one person studio for students, but her boyfriend was clearly living with her illegally and he was loud."
"One night we knocked n the door at 3 AM because of the loud music and an unknown girl opened the door. I just thought they were having a little party. But the next door I saw the girl living there come home with a suitcase after having been away for the weekend... Her BF was cheating on her in her own apartment."
Th3_Accountant
Move Away
"People who sit directly next to me at the airport, movie theater, any other place where you can choose a seat when there is PLENTY of other seating."
BacardiPardy33
"I can’t YES this enough and the ones who can’t park for crap so they park so close you can’t open doors on one side of the car or the ones who park directly behind when you pulled through so the door won’t open to load groceries."
BacardiPardy33
It's Over
"People who try to restart old drama. Like I'm done with you, just leave me alone."
Tired_Potatos
"Yep, half the reason I've basically quit playing one of my favorite online video games. People keep bringing old crap up or sh*tting on on someone who used to be our friend. I got tired of it so I just ejected the game out of me."
CaucasianHumus
AHHHHH!!!
"People walking too slow in front of me with no way to get around them. It’s even worse if it’s a couple or group taking up the whole sidewalk. HAVE SOME SPATIAL AWARENESS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!"
_-v0x-_
Life in general pisses me off. I'm easy.
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